This conference call transcript was computer generated and almost certianly contains errors. This transcript is provided for information purposes only.EarningsCall, LLC makes no representation about the accuracy of the aforementioned transcript, and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the information provided by the transcript.

Companhia Brslra Dst Adr
2/19/2025
Good morning, everyone, and thank you for waiting. Welcome to GPA's fourth quarter of 2024 earnings release video conference. I would like to highlight that we have simultaneous translation on the platform for those who need it. Simply click on the interpretation button, which is the globe icon at the bottom of the screen, and select your preferred language, Portuguese or English. For those who listen to the video conference in English, there is an option to mute the original Portuguese audio by clicking Mute Original Audio. This is being recorded and will be available on the company's IR website where the full earnings release material can be found. The presentation can also be downloaded via the chat icon. During the company's presentation, all participants' microphones will be disabled. Soon after, we will begin the Q&A session. To pose questions, click on the Q&A icon at the bottom of your screen and key in your question to join the queue. When announced, a request to activate your microphone will appear on the screen, and you must enable your microphone to pose your question. We kindly ask that all questions be asked at once. We would like to underscore that the information within this presentation and any statements made during the video conference regarding GPA's business outlook, projection, and operational and financial goals of the company are beliefs and assumptions of the company as information currently available. Forward-looking statements are no guarantees of performance. They involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions as we're talking about future events and therefore depend on circumstances that may or may not occur. Investors should understand that general economic conditions, market conditions, and other operational factors may affect GPA's future performance and lead to results that differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Joining us today are GPA CEO Marcelo Pimentel and CFO and Investor Relations Director Raphael Roussevsky. I will now hand it over to Mr. Marcelo Pimentel to begin the presentation. Good morning. Everyone, thank you for joining our fourth quarter of 2024 Earnings Conference. This quarter marks the completion of the first three years of our turnaround project and I am very pleased to announce that we have exceeded our expectations, reaching historic indicators that demonstrate solid operational progress and the evolution of our results. On slide number four, you can see the highlights of the period. We achieved on Q4 a historic milestone of 9.5% of adjusted EBITDA margin, the highest level since 2020, driven by an acceleration in same-store sales performance, that grew 9.6%, an increase of 4.6 percentage points when compared to the previous quarter with volume growth as well. Now, notably, Pão de Açúcar and Extra Mercado posted strong performance, growing 10.2% and 10.3%, respectively, with significant improvement over the previous quarter's result. Our e-commerce, well, we continue our strong growth trajectory. And we reached 16.2% of growth this quarter, reinforcing our leadership both in our own channels and partner platforms 3P. We continue expanding our market share with an increase of 0.6 percentage points in Sao Paulo. In self-service market, marking two consecutive years of growth, this is in line with our strategic plan. Our gross margin totaled 27.2 percentage points above Q4 of 2023's results. This shows operational efficiency improvements across our banners and formats. And finally, a significant 40% reduction in net debt and financial leverage pre-IFRS 16. Totaling 1.6 times the EBITDA. Rafael will deep dive into this fact, but it's important to remember that we started from 10.6 times of leverage during Q2 of 2022 when we initiated the turnaround period. journey of the company on our next slide I break down the highlights by strategic pillar starting with our top line we had an outstanding sales performance during q4 but we totaled 5.6 billion in total sales on q4 and when excluding direct sales from our partner models we totaled 5.3 billion this is a growth of 8.3 percentage points on total stores now we have the proximity format growing 14.4 percentage points in total stores supported by the opening of 59 new stores in the last 12 months 29 opened only on q4 of 2024 and that continue the rapid matter maturity on q4 of 2024 well this clearly demonstrates the operational progress achieved over the last quarters that were driven by our differentiation and complementary strategy across banners and formats this accuracy became a significant acceleration in same store sales even amid high inflation This demonstrates the resilience of Pound de Azúcar's premium formant in addition to the consistent market share gains. Now, in same-store sales, I would like to mention, I highlight Pound de Azúcar and Extramercado. This posted their strongest growth since Q1 2022. Both grew in sales and volume with significant increase in perishables, a highly strategic category that is heavily impacted by inflation. Market share growth, I would like to elaborate a bit more. Now, we gained 0.6 percentage points in Sao Paulo's self-service market, consolidating two consecutive years of growth. Pão de Açúcar has accelerated market share capture in the premium segment, while the proximity format has gained 1.6 percentage points vis-à-vis small markets, reinforcing the success of its value proposition delivered to their customers. Now, Talking about top line, I would like to talk about the excellent response of EXTA when we review assortment and we've seen the different categories. As part of this transformation, we have... We refurbished 60 stores, 43 during Q4 alone, featuring new internal layouts, facade adjustment, price clustering, and strategic assortment reviews. And the results up till the moment have been extremely positive and reassure all of us. These 60 revitalized stores present a 6.7-point post-change sales uplift, confirming the growth and profitability potential of the banner. Now, customers, our NPS totaled 80 points. This is an increase of 4.2 points vis-a-vis Q4 of 2023. And 14 points visa VQ4 of 2022, maintaining an excellent level and the evolution in service to our customers. This improvement has been seen in all our banners, but I would like to highlight once again, extra mercado, which totaled 84 points of NPS. This is an increase of 7.2 points. Vis-a-vis Q4 of 2023, an example of customer recognition in EXTRA, we were the most recognized brand in Baixada, Santista, AccuRegion. where we almost have 30% of our stores. All this NPS progress is a result of a number of initiatives, and I would like to talk about the continuous training program of our employees and the retrofit of the stores that reflect better service to our customer regarding price perception, availability of products, and store structure. 86 stores have been refurbished across phone and extra throughout 2024. Now, in the digital expansion, this is an additional quarter of strong growth, expanding EBITDA margin and positively impacting consolidated margin, evolving continuously, and our leader in e-commerce of 2020. food in the digital channel. In our quarter, our revenue grew 16.2% with a penetration of 2.2% of the company's growth, which is a 0.8 percentage point increase year over year. Now, during this quarter, we had Black Friday, that is gaining more momentum in the e-commerce food channel. We had a record breaking sales with 18% better than last year, improving margins and better on time and complete order rates. Now, when we go to slide six, we have our EBITDA margin totaling 9.5%, the highest since 2020. in addition to gross margin, hit 27.2%. This is a 0.2 percentage points improvement from Q4 of 2023. Rafael will talk about our financial performance. We opened 29 new stores on Q4, totaling 60 new stores in one year. I'm talking about 59 proximity stores, 44 Minuto Pão de Açúcar, 21 Mini Extra, and four new Pão de Açúcar Fresh in addition to a new Pão de Açúcar in Campinas in the state of São Paulo. We remain focused on expanding premium proximity formats with the Minuto Pão de Açúcar banner in Sao Paulo, which is a mature and scalable model with stronger potential than Sao Paulo's dense and verticalized urban regions. Now my last slide, here we have our ESG and social initiatives. Now this is our sixth strategic pillar in order to fight climate change. We had a 6.7 reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in scope one and two. This is a result of investments and retrofit and spillages and leaks in companies. Now, diversity and inclusion. Well, it's 50% of leadership positions. Now, in inclusion and diversity promotion, I am happy to announce that we ended Q4 with almost 50% of leadership. women in our leadership. We also ended the year with around 59% of leadership positions are heard by black employees with 51% in top management. We ranked number one in the corporate racial equity index this is the result of our intentional initiatives in order to involve in this pillar and i end this chapter now i'll talk about social impact through our partnership against waste in 2024 we've donated one 1,200 tons of food in addition to 850 tons collected from customers benefiting over 330 social organizations that are partners of the Pão de Açúcar Institute.
We close the year with 1,100 participations from our employees as volunteers, exceeding our initial target of 700 respondents. I close now my first contributions, and I turn the floor over to Rafael, who will talk about our numbers. Thank you, Marcelo. Good morning, everyone. Starting on slide number nine, I'd like to show the total revenue, which reached 5.6 billion in Q4. a growth of 6.3% in total stores vis-à-vis Q4 of last year, with an emphasis on the proximity format, which is the focus of our expansion plans, which showed an increase of 14.4%. This growth reflects a 9.6% increase in the same stores, excluding the calendar effect, as well as the opening of 60 new stores in 24, 59 proximity ones and one Pão de Açúcar, 21 of which were proximity stores in Q4. On the other hand, the total result was impacted by the closure of three Pão de Açúcar stores and three proximity stores in the quarter, in line with our ongoing portfolio optimization process. I'd like also to highlight the impact of the rebalancing of our Aliados format, which, despite a drop in sales, helped improve profitability. It's worth mentioning that the Aliados format begins 2025 with a fully rebalanced comparison base. In Q4-24, we recorded a strong sales momentum with a significant increase in same-store growth, driven by an increase in volumes and by the growth in average tickets, which reflected inflation levels in the period. This performance clearly shows operating progress made in recent quarters, boosted by the complementarity of our portfolio of banners and formats. which have been consistently gaining share for two years in a row, quarter after quarter. In addition to this solid growth, GPA's sales volume increased despite higher inflation, with the premium format of the Ponte Açúcar banner as a standout. Ponte Açúcar grew 10.2% in same stores, once again helping the growth shown in the previous quarter this momentum was driven by the combined effect of volume and average price growth the proximity format showed same store growth of four percent with the stores open after 2022 continuing to increase their share with a growth in the two-digit instant store, showing the high quality of expansion projects and the efficacy of our investment strategy. In addition, it's important to note the significant 1.6 percentage point increase in the market share of this format when compared to larger supermarkets in the greater Sao Paulo area, according to data from Milson. Extra Mercado, our other chain, recorded a semi-store increase of 10.3%, the largest increase since we started recording that series in Q1 2022. That performance reflects an increase in sales volume, especially in the groceries categories, as well as a strong growth in average price of perishables influenced by inflation, as seen also at Pão de Açúcar. As Marcelo mentioned, we have made significant progress in the project to review assortment and category management at the Extra Mercado banner. This quarter, we have revamped 43 stores, making a total of 60 stores already revamped under that banner. The impact of those improvements became clear with those stores showing above-average sales growth directly contributing to the acceleration of performance in the period. Finally, e-commerce continues to stand out, having reached 16% of increase in Q4 and reaching revenues of 625 million BRLs. The footprint of digital sales in total sales was 12.2%, up 0.8 percentage points when compared to the same period of last year. Our performance was especially robust on seasonal dates, especially Black Friday, when we recorded exceptional rates of on-time delivery and complete orders. reflecting once again significant improvement when compared with the previous year. In addition to accelerating fast growth, I'd like to reinforce the importance of e-commerce for the company's profitability. Currently, this channel already operates with a double-digit contribution margin, thus contributing to the dilution of fiscal store expenses in a 100% shift from store model. On slide number 10, we have the profitability momentum measured by gross profit and adjusted EBITDA. We had yet another quarter of significant advancements, with the adjusted EBITDA margin reaching a record level. As shown in the chart above, gross profit reached 1.4 billion in Q4 2024, with a margin of 27.2%, accounting for an increase of 0.2% when compared to the same period of 2023. The chart also highlights the moment when we started the company's turnaround project, showing clearly the sustainability of continuous gains achieved since then. We remain focused on the evolution of profitability driven by projects started in 2023. One of the main highlights of these results is the Extra Mercado banner, which is already beginning to reflect in its profitability line the progress of the assortment, review, and category management, which began in the second quarter of last year. For 2025, we have a solid pipeline of strategic initiatives, including reducing losses, improving commercial margins, growing retail media, and optimizing the store network. These actions reinforce our commitment to the continuous evolution of profits, always in search of sustainable long-term results. In the chart below, we can see the adjusted EBITDA totaled $498 million, with a margin of 9.5%, accounting for a significant increase of 1.5% vis-à-vis Q4 2023. It is also worth mentioning the robust growth of 25.3% in adjusted EBITDA over the previous year, reflecting the effectiveness of our initiatives aimed at improving profitability and operating efficiency. Adjusted EBITDA recorded in Q4-24 reached the highest level since 2020 and, as shown in the chart, marked the ninth consecutive quarter of evolution. In other words, since the start of the turnaround, we have managed to implement continuous gains in EBITDA margin quarter after quarter. Moving on to slide number 11. with the financial performance of the net income. As shown in the chart, in Q4 2024, we recorded a continuing net loss of $737,737,000 this quarter. In the quarter, we had impacts on other operating income and expenses, especially from non-recurring items that helped increase the loss. I'll go through those effects to give you greater insight. clarity on the nature of the numbers. We classified an impact of $563 million related to specific topics, of which $272 million related to the topics we call structuring for GPA and $291 million to exceptional topics. With regard to structural issues, the main impact of $150 million has to do with impairment of a group of stores adjusting their recoverable value as they are not strategic assets for the company. In addition, we made tax settlements in the quarter, which totaled 80 million BRLs. As already shown in various interactions with the market, we continue to be active in the search for solutions for contingencies, also making progress on agreements that generate benefits, such as discounts on interest and fines, better payment terms, and the use of credits to settle obligations. Lastly, We started Q4-24 with a project to restructure the administrative area with a focus on efficiency gains. The impact of provision terminations was of 43 million BRLs, considering the total project. And we predict an annualized reduction in expenses of about 100 million BRLs. The other impacts on the net loss on continuing operations are related to exceptional events including the provision for probable loss of 191 million related to the INSS, discussion and the recomposition of the provision for labor lawsuits to the tune of 100 million. The INSS contingency provision originates from a thesis adopted by the market regarding the non-levy of employers INSS on benefits. At the end of 24, the STJ, the court, judged this issue or ruled unfavorable for the taxpayer and considering the merits of this decision, we have reclassified our loss from possible to probable in accordance with our policies. It is important to note that in our case, this discussion is still at the admin level and that any cash disbursement will only occur after the final ruling. which historically can take between five to eight years, and also there is still the possibility of a settlement to reduce In addition, we made the recomposition of the provision for labor lawsuits, updating the estimates of disbursement and the assessment of the probability of loss based on a more detailed analysis of the history of lawsuits. Disbursements related to this provision are expected over the next few years. Finally, in the next slide, we have the management cash flow for the last 12 months, a period in which we generated free operating cash flow of 256 million BRLs. This number was driven by a significant improvement in the adjusted ADDAP pre-IFRS 16, which reached 811 million BRLs. recording a significant growth of 85% when compared to 2023. In addition, we had an efficient management of merchandise working capital and a capex of $674 million, down $52 million from the previous year. Despite the positive evolution of the main operating lines, the generation of free operating cash showed a reduction of 50 million compared to 23, impacted exclusively by working capital needs for non-merchandise due to a lower monetization of ICMS credits, returning to more normal levels. Cash flow after sale of assets reached 1.5 billion in the 12-month period, impacted mainly by the sale of non-core assets and by the follow-on with an evolution increase of 963 million when compared to 2023. Lastly, I'd like to highlight the 140 million improvement in net financial cost coming mainly from a significant drop in our gross debt. On slide 13, we go into more detail into the drop in our debt as shown in the chart. Net debt fell by 911 million between the fourth quarter of 23 and the fourth quarter of 24, from 2.2 billion down to 1.3 billion. The result reflects the positive effects mentioned above, including the generation of 256 million BRLs in operating free cash flow, the efficient execution of the sale of non-core assets, and the funds raised in the follow-on. The reduction in the financial leverage was even more significant, considering BIFRS 16 adjusted the beta numbers, our level, Leverage fell from 5 times in Q4 2023 to 1.6 times in Q4 2024. This progress reinforced our commitment to reducing debt levels and building a more robust and balanced capital structure, the result of a combination of disciplined financial management and the continuous evolution of operating performance. This concludes our presentation of financial numbers, and I now open the floor for Q&A. We now start the Q&A session. Once again, to ask questions, you have to click on the Q&A icon at the bottom part of your Zoom screen and type in your question to join the queue. When you are announced, a prompt to activate your mic will appear on the screen, and you can then unmute your mic to ask questions. We kindly ask you that your questions are posted all at once. First question, then, from Ruben Couto from Santander. Ruben, we'll now unmute your mic so that you can go on with your question. You may go ahead, sir. Good morning, Pimentel and others. To Rafael's last point about the company's cash generation and leverage level, For 2025, when we look forward to that operating cash generation vis-a-vis the EBITDA recorded in 2024, we see a low conversion level, especially looking at the company's track record. and some of your peers in the market, what do you envision in terms of evolution for those conversion numbers, those cash conversion numbers throughout 2025? I would believe there is still some room for a margin expansion, but any other lever you could see coming into place to improve cash conversion, to continue to decrease leverage? Thank you.
Ruben. Ruben.
You're reading a preview of the CBDBY Q4 2024 earnings call.
Free account.