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Alsca Sa
10/21/2026
Good morning everyone and welcome to Alsea's third quarter 2026 earnings video conference. My name is Gerardo Lozoya, head of investor relations and corporate affairs. Today you will hear from our chief executive officer Christian Gurria and Federico Rodríguez, our chief financial officer. Before we continue, a friendly reminder that some of our comments today will contain forward-looking statements based on our current view of our business and that future results may differ materially from these statements. Today's call should be considered in conjunction with disclaimers in our earnings release and our most recent Bolsa Mexicana de Valores report. The company is not obliged to update or revise any such forward-looking statements. Please note that unless specified otherwise, the financial figures discussed today are presented on a pre-IFRS 16 basis. I will now hand it over to Christian for his initial remarks. Please go ahead, Chris.
Gracias, Gerardo, and good morning and thank you all for joining us in ALCEA's Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Video Conference. I will begin with an overview of our performance during the quarter, highlighting key operating trends across regions and brands, as well as the progress we continue to make in digital capabilities expansion ESG initiatives. Federico, our CFO, will then provide more detailed review of our financial results. Before discussing the quarterly figures, I would like to place our performance in a broader context of the period. The third quarter delivered consistent momentum in demand. As customers gradually returned to their usual routines following the World Cup, we saw month-over-month improvements in traffic throughout the quarter, particularly in our coffee business in Mexico. At the same time, our team successfully introduced new products and executed relevant seasonal marketing campaigns across our portfolio. These initiatives, together with our continued focus on operating efficiency, store openings, remodelings, profitability and cash generation, provide a solid foundation as we move into the final months of the year. With this context, let me now Review our quarterly performance, including our financial results, regional and brand highlights, and the progress made in our digital expansion and ESG priorities. During the third quarter, Total sales increased 1.8% year-over-year to $21.2 billion. Excluding foreign exchange effects, sales grew 5.6%, reflecting positive underlying performance across the business. Same-store sales increased 4.2%. Evida increased 2.2% in the third quarter, reaching 2.9 billion pesos, with a margin expansion of 10 basis points to 13.9%. These results reflect our team's disciplined execution in a consumer environment that continues to require agility and close attention to operating performance. Turning to the performance of our brand during the third quarter. Starbucks Alsea delivers same-store sales growth of 4.4%, compared with the same period last year. For Starbucks Mexico, same-store sales increased by 3.1%, supported by the recovery in traffic following the World Cup and a strong marketing calendar, including our Peanuts campaign, the Unicorn Frappuccino, and the return of our fall beverage offerings, such as Pumping Spice Latte. We also continue strengthening the brand through our Juntémonos Más campaign, reinforcing Starbucks' role as the third place where customers can connect with one another and with their communities. For Starbucks Europe, same-store sales increased by 6.1%, reflecting broad-based momentum across the region. Spain continued to deliver solid growth. France returned to positive territory as marketing and commercial initiatives translated into improved traffic. Finally, in South America, same-store sales rose 7.6%, mainly reflecting price adjustments in Argentina that remain aligned with inflation. Excluding Argentina, same-store sales increased 0.2% as Colombia grew 10.8% despite temporary store closures following the earthquake, while Chile declined 4.2% due to lower traffic and a consumer environment that remains under pressure. Before we continue with the other business units, I would like to provide an update on Starbucks Mexico and address some of the topics we have discussed with the market. The recent leadership transition at Starbucks Mexico has brought renewed focus on the fundamentals that differentiate the brand. High quality coffee, world class service, and welcoming coffee houses where customers want to spend time. We continue working closely with our stores and frontline teams, simplifying routines and improving executions across the business. This disciplined focus, together with the remodeling and facelift of our stores, is clearly paying off and the customer is recognizing it. And all together enhances the coffeehouse experience and deliver attractive returns, complemented by product innovation and marketing initiatives that increased the brand's relevance and strengthened customer connections. While these efforts remain at an early stage, the improving traffic and operating trends confirm our confidence in the long-term potential of Starbucks Mexico. Based on our internal estimates and the information currently available, we have not seen evidence of a loss in market share over the last three years. At the same time, we continue to deepen our market presence with more than 50 store openings over the last 12 months, helping us maintain our leadership position in Mexico. Importantly, traffic improved sequentially throughout the third quarter, with each month performing better than the previous one. With these consistent signs and a clear focus on sustaining Starbucks Mexico's momentum, let me now turn to the performance of our other business units, beginning with Domino's Pizza. Domino's Pizza Al Seat boasted a 3.6% increase in same-store sales, supported by the World Cup during July and by our Sartén Orilla Suprema Pizza launched in August. In Spain, same-store sales increased by 2.2% driven by consistent commercial execution. In Colombia, same-store sales increased 1.8% in the quarter. These results demonstrate the brand's ability to maintain positive momentum through relevant product innovation, effective commercial execution, and strong value proposition. The full-service restaurant segment delivered 2.8% same-store sales growth. Full-service restaurants in Mexico increased by 3.2%. Chili's grew 6.3%, maintaining healthy momentum following an exceptionally strong second quarter supported by the World Cup. Bips grew 3.8%, benefiting from the positive reception of our Fiestas Patrias menu and selling more than 520,000 chiles en nogada across Mexico, making it the restaurant chain with the highest sales of this iconic dish. Foster's Hollywood, which increased 3.7%, supported by product innovation and new offerings such as American barbecue and weekend brunch. VIPS Spain also contribute positively the reliever in 1.5% growth. Overall, this segment continue to benefit from effective commercial initiatives, relevant seasonal offerings and discipline operating execution. This performance reinforces Alsea's leadership position supported by the quality and value of our offerings, strong customer preference and continued innovation across our brands. During the quarter we opened 46 new stores, including 36 corporate units and 10 franchisee locations, bringing our total store base to 4,835 units at the end of September. We continue to take a selective and disciplined approach to expansion, prioritizing brands, geographies and locations that meet our return criteria. At the same time, we remain focused on remodeling existing stores where investments continue to generate attractive returns, enhance customer experience and support positive same-store sales growth. We also completed our first full quarter of Chipotle operations in Monterrey. Initial sales were approximately 190% above our expectations, reflecting an encouraging customer response. While we recognize that the brand remains at an early stage of development and that some of these performance may reflect the novelty of the opening, the survey results reinforce our confidence as we continue developing the brand at a disciplined pace. Looking ahead, we will continue building our new brands progressively and responsibly. We currently expect to open three additional Chipotle locations in Nuevo León, followed by the first Raising Cane's restaurant in the state in Q1 of 2027. We will also continue assessing opportunities to optimize our portfolio, including potential divestitures of selected assets with the objective of concentrating resources on the businesses and markets offering the strongest long-term value creation potential. Our digital platforms continue to strengthen customer engagement and support growth across our brands. By the end of the quarter, loyalty sales increased 9%, reaching 5.6 billion pesos, representing 22.7 million orders and contributing 28.1% of total sales. Our loyalty programs have 9.1 million active users, while Starbucks rewards members generated 32% of brand sales. At Starbucks, we introduced Juntémonos Más, a new communication platform designed to support the brand across all markets over the coming years. The platform reinforces the role of Starbucks stores as welcoming spaces where people can meet, connect, and spend time together, while strengthening brand equity and helping us expand and deepen engagement with our Starbucks Rewards member base. In addition, we fulfilled nearly 33.2 million digital orders during the quarter, generating 8.1 billion pesos in sales and representing 40.7% of Alsea's total sales. These results underscore the growing relevance of our digital ecosystem in providing customers with greater convenience and strengthening engagement across our brands. Turning now to our ESG initiatives. During the quarter, we complemented our global assessment of physical climate risks with an analysis of climate transition risks and opportunities, covering technological, market and reputational risks under three scenarios through 2050. In our supply chain, we have strengthened our supplier approval process in Europe. Suppliers now completed an updated ESG questionnaire based on international standards such as eco-bodies and must provide evidence of their environmental and social practices. Through Fundación Alsea, on October 1st, we launched the 14th edition of our annual campaign for Movimiento Va Por Mi Cuenta in Mexico. Last year, we raised a record of 62 million pesos, benefiting more than 1.4 million people. And this year, we aim to surpass that amount. In Spain, our Producto con Corazón, or Product with a Heart, campaign has raised more than 236,000 euros to date, more than double what we reported last quarter. In South America, more than 70 Starbucks partners contributed over 250 volunteer hours in Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. In Colombia, our partners helped assemble more than 1,200 food packages for families affected by the earthquake. I will now turn the call to Federico, our CFO, who will provide further details on our financial performance.
Thank you, Christian. Good morning, everyone. The sales grew 1.8% in the third quarter, or 5.6% excluding foreign exchange effects, as the stronger peso continued to weigh on the translation of the European and South American results. Mexico grew 5.9% to 12.2 billion pesos, combining same-store sales growth of 3.6% with the contribution of new stores. In Europe, sales grew 2.8% in euros, which translated into a 4.6% decline in pesos to 6.1 billion pesos. South America sales remain broadly stable in pesos at 3 billion pesos. Gross margin contracted 10 basis points to 67.2% and the consolidated EBITDA increased 2.2%, expanding the margin by 10 basis points. By region, the adjusted EBITDA in Mexico increased 6.3% with a 10 basis points margin expansion driven by efficient expense management and operating leverage. In Europe, adjusted EBITDA declined 1.8% in pesos but grew 7.3% in euros with a 40 basis points margin expansion. An improvement of approximately 170 basis points in gross margin helped offset higher labor and energy costs during the period. In South America, adjusted EBITDA decreased 8.6% with a margin contraction of 110 basis points due to the loss of operating leverage driven by negative traffic in Argentina and Chile. The net income for the third quarter increased 15.3% year over year, reaching 590 million pesos. This increase highlights the positive contribution from the operating performance and continued financial discipline during the period. The capex for the first nine months of the year totaled 3 billion pesos. Out of this total, 80% was allocated to store development initiatives, including the opening of 36 new corporate units, the renovation and remodeling of existing locations and equipment replacement across the brands. The remaining 20% was directed at strategic projects, software licenses, and other initiatives. Our capital allocation approach remains selective and disciplined, with investment focused on projects that enhance customer experience, strengthen the operating capabilities, and meet our return criteria. One of the most important developments this year has been the significant improvement in our cash flow generation. By the end of September, ALCEA generated positive pre-cash flow of 955 million pesos on a year-to-date basis, compared with cash consumption of approximately 3 billion pesos during the same period last year, representing a year-over-year improvement of nearly 4 billion pesos. This improvement was supported by greater working capital efficiencies, lower CAPEX, and reduced interest expenses compared with the prior year. During the quarter, and particularly in the final month of the period, we also increased the pace of our shared repurchase program. We currently hold approximately 10 million shares in our buyback program representing close to 500 million pesos out of the 1.5 billion pesos authorized in our annual shareholders meeting. Given current valuation levels, we will continue executing share repurchases as part of our capital allocation strategy while preserving financial flexibility and maintaining a disciplined balance sheet. At the end of the third quarter, the pre-IFRS 16 total debt increased by 747 million pesos year over year, reaching 35.3 billion pesos. The company's net debt, not accounting the impact of IFRS 16, was 29 billion pesos, 856 million pesos less than at the same time last year. Consolidated net debt reached 44.4 billion pesos, including lease liabilities. At the end of the quarter, 92% of the debt was long-term, 69% denominated in Mexican pesos, and 31% in euros currency. The cash position stood at 6.3 billion pesos. We remain focused on maintaining a healthy and balanced capital structure supported by prudent financial management, improving cash flow generation, and a well-diversified debt profile. Turning to the financial ratios, the total debt to pre-IFRS 16 EBITDA ratio closed the quarter at three times, while the net debt to EBITDA pre-IFRS 16 ratio stood at 2.5 times. The progressive improvement in traffic, positive underlying sales growth, stable profitability, and stronger cash flow generation reinforce the confidence in the resilience of Alsea's business model and the strength of the brand portfolio. Based on our performance through the first nine months of the year and the expectations for the remainder of 2026, we remain confident in the ability to achieve the updated guidance communicated in July. I will now turn the call over to the operator for the Q&A session. Operator, please go ahead.
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