Femsa reports Q4 revenue up 4.6% year over year

Jose Antonio Fernandez Carbajal, FEMSA’s CEO commented: “Our results for the fourth quarter were strong, but less uniform across business units than what we saw earlier in the year. Revenues were robust, even as we cycled tough comparison bases at certain business units. However, on the expense side we felt more directly the cumulative effect from increased labor costs in Mexico, as well as some business- and country-specific situations that impacted our profitability. “Proximity Americas increased revenues by more than 14%, driven by high-single-digit comparable sales at OXXO and reflecting an accelerated store expansion, while we continued to see healthy growth trends in South America and across formats. In Europe, Valora achieved a strong operating result with substantial growth in a challenging macro environment. FEMSA Health delivered stable revenues, but a deteriorating dynamic in the institutional business in Colombia hurt our profitability. For its part, Coca-Cola FEMSA again delivered strong results across its income statement, while Digital@FEMSA continued to add users at a brisk pace. “On the strategic front, we recently provided incremental information regarding our capital allocation framework, and we stand ready to begin executing the plan in order to reach our stated leverage objective within two to three years. “In short, we wrapped up a unique year that was transformational on the strategic front, with remarkable results resulting from our FEMSA Forward strategy. Today, we are a leaner, more focused company, ideally positioned to pursue and capture the most compelling opportunity set we have ever had before us. Once again, I thank the entire FEMSA team for their excellent work, as we get ready to write another exciting chapter.”