LISBON (Reuters) – Portuguese retailer Jeronimo Martins on Wednesday posted a 7.1% drop in third-quarter net profit as a strain on margins from lower food prices and lingering cost inflation offset higher sales.
The company said in a statement it made a net 187 million euros ($203 million) in the quarter, exceeding the 166 million average forecast by analysts polled by LSEG.
The EBITDA margin – a key measure of profitability – slipped to 6.6% in the first nine months from 7.1% a year earlier. The margin at the retailer’s Polish market-leading chain Biedronka fell to 7.7% from 8.6% a year ago.
Chief Executive Pedro Soares dos Santos said that the price pressures intensified competition and further strained profit margins.
“In this challenging context, we maintain our focus on sales while reinforcing cost discipline and seeking operational efficiency gains to protect profitability,” he added.
Consolidated sales rose 6.7% to 8.47 billion euros in the quarter, driven by sustained demand across all its brands, particularly in Poland, where sales reached 5.9 billion euros.
However, Biedronka’s like-for-like sales in Polish zlotys slipped by 1.9% in the quarter.
At home, sales at the Pingo Doce supermarket chain rose 2.7% to 1.3 billion euros, while in Colombia its Ara stores booked 694 million euros in sales, up 4.3% from a year earlier.
Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 1.2% to 593 million euros, above the average of 572 million euros expected by analysts.
(Reporting by Patrícia Vicente Rua; Editing by Andrei Khalip)
