Jeronimo Martins Pe

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for joining this call to present our first quarter results. As a reminder, in our corporate website, you can find the results release, a slide presentation, and a fact sheet for the periods. The group delivered a good performance in the first quarter of 2026, with a 6.3% sales growth incorporating the effect of an earlier Easter season and a BTA rising by 8.4% year on year also benefiting from the operational leverage. These results were achieved despite persistent global geopolitical tensions and heightened economic uncertainty for both businesses and consumers. Against this backdrop, and with fuel costs on the rise, consumers stayed cautious about food spending, favoring low prices and promotions. In Poland, Biedronka started the year operating with basket deflation. In face of these constraints, all companies remain firmly committed to their strategic priorities, maintaining price competitiveness and executing effective promotions to guarantee consumer preference and trust. We close the period with a solid balance sheet that includes a positive cash position of 385 million euros when excluding lease capitalization. Looking now to our first quarter P&L, I share with you a couple of comments. The first relates to operational performance, noting that the increase in EBITDA was primarily driven by strong sales and strict cost management. Furthermore, the improvement in gross margin reflects the group's commitment to optimizing product mix across banners as well as leveraging scale advantages resulting from consistent expansion as seen in ARA. The second comment concerns the evolution of financial cost that significantly impacted net earnings growth in the quarter. A major driver of this was the year-on-year increase in interest expenses and the exchange rate differences arising from the capitalization of leases in accordance with IFRS 16. The later concerns the Euro-denominated rents in Poland, which translated into a charge of 5.5 million euros in Q1 26, compared to a positive contribution of 8 million euros in Q1 2025. Cash flow for the period, which excluded any dividend payment, was negative at 428 million euros, in line with the typical post-Christmas working capital cycle. The group ended the quarter with a solid financial position, comprising net cash of 385 million euros. The General Shareholders' Meeting, held on 23 April, approved the proposal to distribute a dividend of 65 cents per share, the gross amount, totaling 408.5 million euros, which will be paid on 12 May. Also approved was the distribution from the 2025 results of 40 million euros to Geronimo Martins Foundation. Looking now into the detail of the performance, I start with sales. All companies delivered well, contributing to the group's top line growth. Consolidated sales increased by 6.3%, 6.7% at constant exchange rates to reach 8.9 billion euros, driven by a like-for-like of 3.1% that was also partly supported in Poland and Portugal by the timing benefit of an earlier Easter season. Inevitably, This will act as a headwind to comparatives in Q2. Expansion of the store networks was also a relevant feature of the sales performance. Food inflation in Poland has decreased since September 2025, averaging 2.3% in the first quarter of this year and dropping to 2.1% in March. Food retail demand remains subdued, with heightened competition intensifying toward the end of March in anticipation of Easter. Biedronka led in price and promotions, while also fine-tuning the assortment and improving its store network through the refurbishment plan implemented. All in all, sales grew 3.6% to 6.2 billion euros. In local currency, sales increased 4.5%, with like-for-like at 2.3%, including close to 1.5 percentage points of positive calendar effects, mainly driven from the early Easter. I flag here that the banner operated with significant basket deflation over the period, and therefore, this performance was supported by strong volume growth. In the first three months, 12 stores were opened, three net additions, and 36 were renovated. Hebe continued to face an extremely fierce competitive environment with no signs of easing. Sales increased by 1.6%, 2.5% at constant currency, to 148 million euros with like for like at 0.4%. Online sales grew 8.4% and represented slightly more than 20% of total top line. In Portugal, Food inflation was 3.5% in Q1-26, matching the rate in Q4-25, and consumers continued to prioritize promotions. Operating a distinctive food store model with consistent commercial strategy, Pink Dose reinforced its well-known and highly valued promotional campaigns, delivering strong growth. Sales increased by 7.5% to 1.3 billion euros, with a like-for-like, without fuel, of 5.7%, which also included around 1 percentage point of benefit from the early Easter season. In the first three months of the year, Pink Dose refurbished 11 stores. In this period, the Eureka sector revealed some demand constraints. Recheio faced a somewhat volatile market due to several storms that impacted particularly the centre of Portugal, affecting the Eureka Channel. Despite the challenges, our wholesale banner posted solid growth with sales reaching 312 million euros, 3.3% ahead of Q1 2025, and Like for Like standing at 2.7%. This top line performance benefited also from the contribution of a new flagship store open in Lisbon in February, and from a larger number of clients on the Like for Like base. In Colombia, Food inflation persisted at an elevated level, reaching 5.7% in Q1-26. The consumer environment continued to be difficult, despite some improvement in private consumption and increased household confidence. ARA reinforced brand awareness through a disciplined and consistent expansion strategy. This notoriety, together with competitive pricing and a high-quality and assertive offer, is driving good sales growth. In Euro, sales reached 959 million at 23.6% increase over Q1-25. In local currency, sales rose 21.2% with 6% like-for-like. I highlight that the banner operated with very low basket inflation and therefore this was primarily a volume-driven performance. Expansion was also an important growth driver. In Q1-26, Ara added 51 new stores, 45 net additions, to its network and operated a new distribution center. EBTA performance performed strongly, increasing by 8.4%, plus 9% at constant exchange rates, to reach 572 million euros. Group EBTA margin stood at 6.4%, 13 basis points up on Q1 2025. At Pedronca, EBITDA grew 4.6%, 5.5% up in local currency, with the respective margins standing at 7.8% versus 7.7% in Q1 2025. The company maintained its sales-focused strategy, leveraging on price leadership and improved assortment mix that, combined with rigorous cost management, shielded the margin in a very pressured market. At Hebei, EBITDA increased from €3 million in Q1 2025 to €10 million. The EBITDA margin increase to 6.7% reflects the work carried out since Q2 2025 to enhance sales mix and control costs. In Portugal, the combined EBITDA of our distribution banners stood at €83 million, 7.2% above the same quarter last year with the respective margin standing at 5.2%, in line with Q1 2025. Arezebite reached 44 million euros, an increase of 17 million euros compared to the first quarter of 2025, or plus 58.4% in local currency, with the respective margin improving to 4.6%, versus 3.5% in Q125 as a result of the consistent increase in scale of operations and the remarkable work on cost management. In summary, despite the impact of the deteriorating geopolitical environment on consumer sentiment, all our banners were able to deliver good underlying performance during the quarter, both in sales and EVTA. This reflects the resilience of our business models and the daily focus of our performance-driven teams on operational discipline. We will continue to place the consumer at the center of our strategy with price competitiveness remaining a fundamental pillar across all banners alongside ongoing improvements to our assortment and shopping experience. During these first months of the year, we maintained a very rigorous approach to capital expenditure, continued to execute the CAPEX program in line with our strategic priorities and without compromising financial flexibility. Looking forward, we acknowledge that geopolitical developments continue to require close monitoring. The war in the Middle East has already resulted in higher fuel and fertilizer prices, which are adding cost pressures as we approach the next food production cycle. This reinforces the need for vigilance and agility to respond to potential challenges. I conclude by confirming that the outlook we shared on 18 March 2026 remains unchanged. Thank you for your attention. Operator, I am now ready to take questions.

Thank you. To ask a question, you will need to press star 1 and 1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one and one again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A queue. Our first question comes from the line of Will Woods from Bernstein. Please go ahead, your line is open.

Hi, good morning. The first question is obviously you flag rising fertilizer prices feeding into the upcoming food cycle. How long do you think that will take to feed through into Poland? And do you think that Q2 might be the trough of food inflation in the markets? And then the second question is, obviously, your margin performance has been impressive expanding year over year. Could you give a little bit more detail of what you've been doing to drive those improved margins? And do you think that Q2 and Q3 margins can show the same level of resilience or expansion? Thanks.