Atacadão S.A. (CRFB3) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

[Interpreted] Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Grupo Carrefour Brazil's Q1 2025 Earnings Conference. Joining us today from the company's executive team are CEO, Stephane Maquaire; and CFO, Eric Alencar; along with Head of Investor Relations, Marcela Bretas, who will begin the presentation shortly. Please note that this conference is being record and will be available for replay on the company's Investor Relations website, where you can also find the slide deck being used today. [Operator Instructions] Before we begin, we would like to remind everyone that the information presented today and any forward-looking statement made during this call regarding the business outlook, projections and operational or financial goals of Grupo Carrefour Brazil are based on the company's management's current beliefs and assumptions as well as information currently available. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions as they relate to future events and therefore, depend on circumstances that may or may not materialize. Investors should be aware that general economic conditions, market factors and other operational variables may impact the future performance of Grupo Carrefour Brazil and cause actual results that differ materially from those expressed in such statements. And now I would like to turn the conference over to our CEO, Mr. Stephane Maquaire, to begin today's presentation. Mr. Maquaire, please go ahead.

[Interpreted] Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and thank you once again for joining us for the presentation of our first quarter 2025 results. We kicked off the year with another strong quarter of sales growth, driven by continued like-for-like market share gains at Atacadao, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of outperforming the cash and carry market. Throughout the quarter, food inflation remained elevated. In this environment of pressure on consumer purchasing power, Atacadao once again proved to be the winning format, offering a compelling and distinguished value proposition to our customers. We continue to expand our network this quarter, opening one new Atacadao store in Rio de Janeiro and adding one new distribution wholesale unit in Sao Paulo. On the digital front, our GMV reached BRL 3.1 billion, maintaining the strong growth trajectory of previous quarters with first-party food sales up 66% year-over-year. Grupo Brazil's like-for-like sales grew 5.4%, mainly driven by the performance of Atacadao, where LfL sales rose 6.9%, once again outperforming the market. This strong performance reflects our leadership in the B2B segment and continued success of our B2C strategy. This includes expanded services such as in-store bakeries, butcher counters and deli sections in 170 locations, self-checkouts and interest rate installment plans in 3x on our store credit card, and that's across all our Atacadao stores. In Retail, like-for-like sales remained positive with volume growth supported by price investments and product mix strategy focused on enhancing competitiveness in the segment. Both Retail and Sam's Club were significantly impacted by the shift in the Easter calendar. This year, Easter fell in the second quarter, whereas it took place in Q1 last year. This shift affects not only sales volume and operating leverage, but also product mix as Easter sales typically involve higher-margin categories. Sam's Club delivered a 2% revenue increase year-over-year. supported by the addition of 7 new stores over the past 12 months. Banco Carrefour posted solid performance this quarter with billing up 12% compared to last year. That said, we continue to feel the impact of regulatory changes, both the interest rate cap introduced in the first quarter of 2024 which has had a progressively larger effect on our portfolio and the new Central Bank resolution that extended the interest accrual period from 60 to 90 days. Both measures had a material effect on our revenue lines and provision for doubtful debts. Consolidated EBITDA for the quarter came in at BRL 1.5 billion with a 5.6% margin, in line with the result from the same period last year. Turning to our ESG strategy. I'd like to reiterate our commitment to our long-term sustainability targets and highlight that the company was once again recognized for its strong corporate governance standards. We were included for the second year in a row in the B3 Corporate Sustainability Index, ISE B3. And this year, we ranked among the top 10 companies in the index. With that, I'll now hand it over to Eric, who will walk you through the financial performance in more detail. Eric, please go ahead.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Stephane, and good morning, everyone. It's a pleasure to be here with you again. Over the next few slides, I'll walk you through the numbers that were published last night. Starting with Slide 3, we present the consolidated results for the quarter. In Q1 2025, gross sales totaled BRL 28.8 billion, up 3.6% year-over-year, driven by a strong performance from Atacadao. Gross margin came in at 19.8%, down 56 basis points from Q1 2024, mainly due to the higher contribution from Atacadao. That's our lower gross margin format. And the Easter calendar shift, which negatively impacted the sales mix in both Retail and Sam's Club. SG&A expenses rose only 1.6% year-over-year below inflation and declined 50 basis points as a percentage of net sales. This reflects our ongoing cost discipline and focus on operational efficiency. Adjusted EBITDA reached BRL 1.5 billion with a margin of 5.6%, in line with the same period last year. We ended the quarter with adjusted net income of BRL 282 million, a result 5.5x higher than in Q1 2024, reflecting a favorable operating environment, improved financial results and better tax management. Moving over to Slide 6. Let's look at the performance of our Cash and Carry segment. We ended the quarter with 380 Atacadao stores, including one new opening this quarter and 14 new stores over the past 12 months, along with 34 distribution wholesale units, one more than a year ago. Gross sales for the segment totaled BRL 20.6 billion, up 7.3% year-over-year. With like-for-like sales growth of 6.9%, outperforming the Cash and Carry market for the fifth consecutive quarter. Former Group BIG stores converted to Atacadao continued to mature as expected and once again delivered solid results with like-for-like growth of 15.1%, building on a 20.9% increase in the first quarter of 2024. These stores posted an EBITDA margin of 4.4%, a 40-basis point improvement over last year. Gross margin remained stable year-over-year, while SG&A as a percentage of net sales declined 16 basis points, supported by maturing converted stores and ongoing efficiency initiatives, especially in labor. Adjusted EBITDA for the segment was BRL 1.5 billion, up 12.7% year-over-year with a margin of 6.8%, an improvement of 19 basis points. Turning now to Slide 8. Let's look at Retail. Gross sales totaled BRL 6.4 billion in the first quarter of 2025. Like-for-like sales growth 2.6%, reflecting ongoing portfolio optimization and a refined pricing strategy. As you all know, the 6% decline in total revenue is mainly due to the reduced sales floor area from store closures and conversions within the segment. This quarter, gross margin contracted by 132 basis points year-over-year, mainly driven by the Easter calendar shift, which negatively impacted our product mix. SG&A expenses decreased 11.4% with a 117-basis point reduction as a percentage of sales, reflecting our efforts to simplify retail operations, boost efficiency and reduce costs, making the format leaner and more competitive. As a result, Retail posted adjusted EBITDA of BRL 117 million with a 2% margin for the quarter. Now on Slide 10, we cover Sam's Club. Sam's Club posted gross sales by BRL 1.6 billion in the quarter, up 1.9% year-over-year. The result reflects a strong network expansion with 7 new stores added over the last 12 months despite the negative like-for-like of minus 3.8%. Our membership base grew 23.4%, maintaining a strong pace of new sign-ups. Gross profit totaled BRL 296 million with a 19.9% margin, down 219 basis points year-over-year. This was due to the Easter calendar shift, which affected the sales mix. Local currency depreciation, which raised import costs not fully passed through to consumers and promotional efforts in newly opened stores. SG&A totaled BRL 286 million, up 17.3%, primarily due to network expansion. Adjusted EBITDA, therefore, for the quarter was BRL 13 million. Now let's look at our bank, Banco Carrefour's performance. Our credit portfolio reached BRL 29 billion, up 16% year-over-year, which helped drive a 12% increase in billing, largely due to successful customer acquisition and the newly converted stores. This quarter, we were impacted by the new Central Bank resolution, Resolution 4966, which extended the late interest accrual period from 60 to 90 days. This affected both revenue recognition and risk provisions. This change is estimated to have added 250 to 300 basis points to our delinquency indicators, explaining most of the rise in NPL ratios, as you can see on the chart. The financial margin declined by 6.4 percentage points year-over-year reflecting the effects of the new interest rate cap regulation. We maintained our disciplined SG&A approach and EBITDA came in at BRL 228 million, up 11.8% year-over-year. Now turning to Slide 15. We reconcile the adjusted net income of BRL 282 million for the quarter, a result 5.5x higher than that of the same period last year. Financial expenses totaled BRL 593 million, already reflecting cost savings from renegotiated intercompany loan rates. Adjusted tax expense was BRL 82 million, which includes a BRL 68 million cash benefit from the amortization of goodwill related to the BIG acquisition. Moving to Slide 16, we present cash flow for the 12 months ended in March 2025. Gross operating cash flow after taxes totaled BRL 6.1 billion, up 18.8% year-over-year. Working capital had a negative impact of BRL 2.6 billion, driven by seasonal inventory buildup due to Easter shifting to Q2 and preparations for Atacadao's anniversary campaign in April as well as provision payments. On the investment side, CapEx totaled BRL 2.2 billion, while we raised BRL 1.5 billion through store sales and sale and leaseback transactions. Cash outflows related to debt and dividends reached BRL 3.3 billion over the past 12 months. As a result, free cash flow for the period was negative by BRL 584 million. Finally, on Slide 17, we discuss leverage. We closed the quarter with net debt, including discounted receivables of BRL 15.6 billion, up BRL 2.1 billion from March 2024, mainly because of higher inventory levels, as we mentioned earlier. Discounted receivables increased by BRL 1.2 billion, reflecting sales growth, changes in payment mix with more credit card transactions and expanded installment offerings at Atacadao. On this last point, it's worth noting that the share of installment sales has remained steady over recent quarters. Consequently, our net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio ended the quarter at 2.40x, slightly higher than last year. With that, I'll turn it back over to Stephane. Stephane, go ahead.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Eric. As you can see, we remain fully focused on executing exactly what we set out to do. Our newly opened stores continue to mature as expected, and we maintain a critical eye on expenses, always looking for opportunities to drive greater efficiency. Looking ahead, we continue on our path of profitable growth, maintaining our position as Brazil's #1 food retailer for the 10th consecutive year. Before we move to the Q&A, I'd like to touch on an important milestone, the decision by the majority of our shareholders at the April 25th General Shareholders Meeting to approve the company's merger and subsequent delisting. This is a moment that brings mixed emotions for us as a management team. On one hand, it reflects Carrefour Group France's strong commitment to Brazil and marks another step in the streamlining of our structure and processes. We expect this to enhance our decision-making agility, improve operational and capital efficiency and make Group Carrefour Brazil even stronger, better positioned to serve our customers and continue growing in this key market. On the other hand, we will truly miss the rich and constructive engagement we've had with shareholders and investors over the past 8 years. These interactions have consistently brought valuable insights and challenges that helped us improve our business. So on behalf of our entire team, I'd like to extend our sincere thanks to all our shareholders, analysts and the broader investment community for your trust, support and partnership throughout our time as a listed company. Thank you all for being with us today. We will now open the floor for your questions.

[Interpreted] [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Joao Soares, sell-side analyst with Citi.

[Interpreted] It's been a pleasure to work with you over the years. I have just a few very quick questions. Going back to something I asked you in the past conference, Stephane and Eric. I just wanted to understand where your minds at, at the company. You mentioned that the company should become more agile now that your dynamics, as a listed company, will no longer be the case. But I just wanted to understand your commercial company, your installment payment offerings. I see that discounts have followed a series of decreases. So I just wanted to understand your strategy from a higher level. And also from the inventory perspective, we saw your competition reporting that there has been an increase in inventories, but there's also been an increase in your profitability. So I just wanted to understand what comes from the macro environment more generally and what comes from the shift in Easter calendar?

[Interpreted] Thank you, Joao. We are very happy with our commercial strategy, both on the Atacadao side and on the Carrefour brand side. We've worked to reposition our pricing strategy last year, and that's really working with the Carrefour brand, especially right now when we consider Brazilian consumers facing high interest rates and combined with high food inflation. We expect to continue following that same line of strategy. Our strategy is unlikely to change when it comes to that. On the Atacadao side, Easter period was a very strong one also because of the Atacadao anniversary campaign. So we believe we've come to regular levels on both channels. Installment offerings, as you mentioned, are working well on Atacadao. It's been extremely steady when it comes to its contribution to our sales. And we also have a breakdown if anyone has any question about that. On Sam's Club, it's a slightly different story. Our partners are taking the opportunity to make a more -- or to have a more convenient or closer store to their homes. So we saw some shifts. This was a year of consolidation, obviously, in addition to the shift in calendar -- in Easter calendar, which shifted from Q1 to Q2, as we mentioned earlier. Obviously, there's been the impact of slightly pricier imports. So it's been a year to make these adjustments when it comes to Sam's Club. However, we're very happy and our strategy is unlikely to change regardless of our delisting. I'll let Eric talk a little bit more about that. But before, I'd like to say that at the end of March of this year, there were 2 impacts. First, the fact that Easter shifted from April, meaning many more products in our inventory, both in Carrefour and Atacadao. And also, as we've had every year, but stronger and stronger still our Atacadao campaign strategy. Eric?

[Interpreted] I'd also like to take the opportunity to say it's been great to work with you. I hope we have the opportunity to work together again in different areas. So we went from 62 to 66 inventory days. I think Stephane has already mentioned this, so I just wanted to add these figures so you get a better picture. And this was because specifically of seasonal periods. And our idea is to work with leaner inventories. Just to give you an idea, our SG&A was 25% higher this year than it was last year, which had already been record-breaking. Ultimately, there's a hangover effect, but that was a lot milder this year because Easter came right after the holidays. So that led to a positive effect. So we started April with 4 days higher inventory and ended the month with an inventory even lower than last year. So this difference that we had between last year and this year was more than consumed in April, which was a very strong month for us. So I think that already helps you to understand not only our philosophy, but gives you a sense of how accurate this strategy by the company was, both with regards to Carnival and Easter.

[Interpreted] Our next question is by Denny Eiger, sell-side analyst with XP.

[Interpreted] I wanted to, first of all, follow up on the SG&A, but not on the inventory aspect specifically. You've had a history of great bargaining power with your suppliers. You get more flexibility with that and your margins are not compromised by the lower prices. And last year, you introduced your installment payment campaign. So I just wanted to understand -- to better understand where your mind's at for this year, where your margins might be slightly more pressured than they were last year. So looking both on pricing and your installment payment campaigns that maybe you can work on something specific. And I'd also like to thank you for our exchanges, and I hope you continue to talk to us even though you're not listed anymore.

[Interpreted] Thank you so much, Denny, for your questions. Well, we prepare a GA that's very strong. I mean, in addition to our month-long anniversary campaign, it was very strong. We negotiated very intensely with our suppliers and vendors and always looking at the dynamics in the market when it comes to pricing. As Eric mentioned, our GA was very strong and strong sales growth, very strong tickets. So you see that Brazilians or Brazilian families did go to our Atacadao stores on this day. This was a day to really go out, and we felt like many Brazilian families went to our stores on this day. It was really a very festive day for everyone. So it really was a home run. Obviously, we prepared all of that, looking at the gross margin for this year and our month-long anniversary strategies. We can't yet report our figures for sales in the month of April, but we can say it was a very strong month. We are very happy about our results in April. And as to our installment payment campaign, this was not an additional feature as we had last year. As you all mentioned, last year, we added 3 time -- or 3 installment payments. At the time, it was more of a commercial push. But right now, during the Atacadao anniversary month, we adopted this along the same line as we had in the last few months without any commercial push. So this really wasn't a significant element to the very positive dynamics that we had in our GA. Thank you.

[Interpreted] Our next question is by Felipe Rached, sell-side analyst with Goldman Sachs.

[Interpreted] Looking at your gross margin increase, we saw no increase in competition this quarter. Does that make sense? And if it doesn't, does that, in any way, increase your appetite for store conversions or store purchases in the near term? Now not thinking about the change in strategy because of your delisting, but has your competitive strategy been appropriate when it comes to accelerating these projects? And if I may add another question. You mentioned that your commercial strategy is unlikely to change with the delisting process. But I just wanted to understand what changes in the company's structure with the change? Are there decisions that used to be taken here that will now be taken by the French group?

[Interpreted] Thank you so much for your questions, Felipe. Well, first of all, thank you for your first question. Finally, we have a question saying, oh, your gross margin with Atacadao is a bit low. You're absolutely right, 6% is a slightly higher level in that bracket. We always say we like to keep with Atacadao. So this is a slightly more positive time. But again, I think we may say in line with what we had in the turn between 2023 and '24. So we will always be sort of fluctuating within that range. What we can say is with the Selic rate, the interest rate going up. Every cash and carry player in the country are reducing their number of store openings. And we see that because of the expansion the entire market is following that. So it went from 10% to 6% growth according to Nielsen. This offers a respite to the entire competition so that they can maybe adjust their margins. So we're seeing slightly lower competition than before, but it was very strong in 2022 and 2023. So it's good news, but it will not change our strategy, which is to always stay within this range from 2% to 6%, as we said before. As to your second question, the delisting process is going to make us more efficient in making small decisions. So we can't say that more decisions will be made in France than in Brazil. We are already working together. We will consider fewer aspects than we did before. So looking into the future, I think that in 2026, we'll be able to expand Atacadao even more. There's room for us to grow because our leverage will be smaller. And even in our considerations and the plans that we discussed with Global that will be the case. So I don't think decision-making dynamics will change, especially when it comes to our operations. And when it comes to our expansion and capital allocation, things will actually become a lot simpler.

[Interpreted] Our next question comes from Vinicius Preto, sell-side analyst with Itau BBA.

[Interpreted] I'd like to go over the expansion issue that you mentioned, especially, starting in 2023. What opportunities do you see in a regional -- from a regional perspective? What markets do you feel that you could explore? And also when you look at Atacadao's performance state by state, where do you see standouts, whether on a negative way or in a positive way?

[Interpreted] Thank you for your comment and for your questions, Vinicius. There's room to grow in Atacadao, and that's true for many states. I keep reasserting that in the state of Sao Paulo, we are still running behind our favorite competitor. And we feel like there is some room for us to take the lead in this space just as we have in other key states. So I'd say the state of Sao Paulo will always be a focus for us. In the last few years, competition has been very strict with the arrival of Max, for example, and the conversions of Assai stores. And I feel like we have to recover our leadership space in the next few years. But in addition to that, we also see room for growth in several other states, especially in the north and the state of Para, for example. In that state, we also see room for more Atacadao stores to be opened. But that's just as well as in several other states in the Northeast. We see that of all 5 regions in the country, that is the most steady. We see less competition, for example, than what we see in the state of Sao Paulo. So we are recovering our growth rates in the state, but it's very notable when it comes to all -- when we look at all others -- all other states or all other regions in the country.

[Interpreted] Our next question comes from Vitor Fuziharo, sell-side analyst with Santander.

[Interpreted] I just wanted to hear a little bit from you about how your gap between -- how the gap between food inflation and interest rate has been that you mentioned in the last conference and if you've seen a shift in the competition. And lastly, if you could talk a little bit about the dynamics between B2B and B2C in your operations?

[Interpreted] Thank you for your questions, Vitor. I'll start with your second question. In Atacadao, as we said earlier, we're seeing B2B sales accelerate. And that's been for a few months because of the accelerating food inflation, which has been going up since last year, we've mentioned that. And in Q1, marketers are now rebuilding their inventory. So we are taking the opportunity of the different dynamics. So slightly better on the B2B side than B2C, when it comes to like-for-like sales in Atacadao. As to your first point, on both channels, both Carrefour and Atacadao our internal inflation is slightly lower than food inflation according to IBGE, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics because we try to hold it back a little bit and figure out how we can offer lower-priced products in our stores. So the mix is also slightly more affordable. And that's because of our work within the company to help our customers, especially our end customers. So we do not see a very wide gap in addition to the products that we are putting on the shelves of Carrefour, for example. So it's a slightly lower internal inflation than the IBGE informed food inflation for the country at large.

[Interpreted] Our next question comes from Nicolas Larrain, sell-side analyst with JPMorgan.

[Interpreted] I echo the words of my colleagues. Thank you for your partnership. I just wanted to talk a little bit more about Atacadao. On the one hand, you mentioned that your B2B operations were stronger, but at the same time, you have more clerks in the store. So I just wanted to understand whether that's because you're anticipating greater elasticity on the B2C side. How do you see your customers responding to that change in prices? That's my first question. And secondly, with regards to the converted BIG stores, how do you see these stores maturing now? We're seeing gains in the SG&A line. So I wanted to understand from you how do you see this channel? Is there maybe some room to reinvest a little bit? But we see that your EBITDA margin is close to your historic levels. So I just wanted to understand your take on that.

[Interpreted] Thank you for your questions, Nicolas. Well, the gross margin in Atacadao is always made up of our B2B and B2C sales, but B2B sales have a lower gross margin than B2C sales, as we know. So seeing more dynamic B2B sales this quarter than B2C sales led to slightly lower gross margins. But on the other hand, we were able to balance that out with our B2C sales, especially in those stores where we added our bakery, butcher and deli services in addition to strong negotiations with our suppliers. Every time we added a new service to our stores, for example, deli services and self-checkout that also brings an improvement in our dynamics. So we see more traffic in those stores than in the stores where we still haven't added those services, which is why we continue to reinforce the addition of these services in Atacadao stores. Whenever we add those 3: bakery, butcher and deli plus self-checkout, we see improvements like that. So we will continue to improve the implementation of those services throughout the year. Looking at our BIG -- converted BIG stores, maturity is doing well, as we said before, in terms of profitability. And otherwise, we do not believe we have to change our pricing strategy in these stores. But it's also important to reinforce that last year, we did some work. So we knew that these stores that we decided to maintain with Atacadao and Carrefour are giving the -- or yielding the expected results. So we expect these stores to fully mature in 3 to 4 years, whether they were converted to Atacadao or Carrefour. I'll turn it over to Eric now.

[Interpreted] I just wanted to add one piece of information, which is I think it's important to understand that converted BIG stores are growing. If you look at the Cash and Carry group 15% of like-for-like sales from the BIG stores. So they're still ramping up when it comes to maturity with a positive like-for-like sales, their margin is between 4% to 4.5%. We know that mature stores go as high as 8%. So it's going up and the maturity curve is going as expected. So good news all around in that sense.

[Interpreted] Our next question comes from Andrew Ruben sell-side analyst with Morgan Stanley.

Andrew of Morgan Stanley here. Just echoing the thanks for the dialogue and partnership over the years. Maybe to stick on the theme of consumer conditions, but more for what you're seeing in the Retail and Sam's division. And specifically for Retail, I'm curious how you're seeing consumers interacting with nonfood and higher ticket purchases. And for Sam's, you mentioned the imported inflation, some of that not being fully passed through to consumers. I'm just curious the rationale behind that decision.

Thank you for the question. I will answer in Portuguese. [Interpreted] Our quarter in Sam's was impacted by sales that were not yet in the Easter season and also the slightly more expensive imports because of the exchange rate. We'd rather not import products rather than having products at too high a price, so much so that in these stores, we do not pass through the rise in inflation. We actually hold back on a few products because of the high level -- high price levels for some of these products because of the fluctuation in exchange rate during this quarter. So it's more about the lack of innovation imports and Sam's Club's imports where because of prices, we were hurt a little bit, especially in the non-food segment with Sam's Club. But there were also a few food products where the price was slightly higher. Speaking more broadly, I don't think this is a time for Brazilian customers to spend a lot more. Because of the affordability pressures, a slightly -- a much higher interest rate. This is the highest Selic rate over the last almost 20 years and also food inflation and general inflation extremely high. So this is a time for customers to sort of hold back a little. On the food side, we need to be a bit cautious. We worked -- so it hurt our food prices, but a little bit more on nonfood prices. So it will be a bit higher over the next quarters as well. Eric, anything you'd like to add?

[Interpreted] No, I think you've covered it.

[Interpreted] This concludes Grupo Carrefour Brazil's Q&A session. We will now turn back for the company's final remarks.

[Interpreted] Once again, I'd like to reinforce that we are executing our plan as we set out to do. As we told you at the end of 2023 and detailed that plan, that's what we are following. And again, what we all said during the call, we want to once again say that it's been a pleasure to have our earnings conference every month, hear your challenges, hear your questions has always been very productive. Let's move forward. Thank you so much.

[Interpreted] This concludes Grupo Carrefour Brazil's Q1 2025 earnings conference. The company's Investor Relations team remains available to address any additional questions. Thank you all for joining us, and have a great day. [Portions of this transcript that are marked [Interpreted] were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]