Organización Soriana, S. A. B. de C. V. (SORIANAB) Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to this conference call where we will discuss the financial results of the fourth quarter and the full year of 2025 of Soriana Organizacion. Today, we have Ricardo Martin Bringas, General Director of Soriana Organizacion; Rodrigo Benet Cordova, Financial Director of Soriana. They will discuss together the financial performance of the organization, and they will provide a summary of the last news regarding the company. [Operator Instructions] At the end of this presentation, we will have questions-and-answers session to address any questions you may have. This conference call is being broadcasted simultaneously in English and Spanish. During the Q&A session, we will answer first the questions in Spanish, and then we will answer questions in English. We will provide instructions as to how to participate in today's conference call. [Operator Instructions] Please be aware that this conference may be recorded. I will now pass the floor to Mr. Ricardo Martin Bringas. Please go ahead.

Hello, everyone. Thank you for participating in this conference call today, where we will discuss the financial results of the fourth quarter and the full year close of 2025. In order to better understand these results, I will begin by highlighting the most significant impact we had on the operations during the year that just ended. 2025 was a very challenging year for the retail sector in Mexico, operating in a context marked by localized inflationary pressures that directly affect consumption. The double-digit increase in the minimum wage also interest rates that, although they have fallen, are still high and amid an environment of international uncertainty, increasingly cautious consumption in Mexican households and customers who are increasingly sensitive to price and value received. These macroeconomic factors had a direct impact on our quarterly and annual performance influencing, therefore, the pace of our sales, generating changes in our customers' consumption patterns and as a result, forcing us to be more disciplined in managing expenses, controlling inventory, improving commercial margins and optimizing logistics costs, implementing improvements to the shrinkage process in stores and distribution centers as well as implementing a plan to address austerity measures were implemented in this first quarter of the year, which was crucial to demonstrate operative resilience and focus on efficiency. Regarding the sales performance by format, it is worth highlighting supermarkets, which outperformed all the other formats, showing better results mainly in edible groceries, fresh produce and general merchandise. On the contrary, low-price formats like Market and Express have been the most affected in sales, mainly in general merchandise, clothing and groceries. Likewise, if we take a geographical look and observe performance by state, we see that Baja California, Nayarit, Jalisco, Sinaloa, Zacatecas, Chihuahua and Sonora are the states with the best sales results during the year. However, we continue to identify opportunities in terms of price perception in various areas of the country, for which we have leveraged other commercial tools such as our private label where in 2025, we had 364 additional launches on the sales floor. As a result, our brand saw an increase in sales of 6.3% compared to last year and currently has a 13% market share with a substantially better margin than the commercial brand, which allows for focus on achieving acceptance and preference over commercial brands due to its excellent price quality ratio. During 2026, we will continue to develop suppliers to meet the high sales potential of our products in the Mexican market. Moving on to the performance of the real estate business. We closed with an 8.8% increase in net income, reaching MXN 3.235 billion, growth that was driven by active management of profitable spaces, seeking to improve the mix of commercial activities, incorporating institutional brands, strengthening alliances and promoting new brand launches nationwide, which allowed us to close with a commercial space occupancy rate of 91%. The digital business, on the other hand, showed an increase in revenue of 20% and a 6% increase in the number of orders. We're almost 2 years after the launch of the City Club format, it accounts for 10% of the total sales through digital channels. Regarding the loyalty program, Soriana YA!, we are pleased to report that we currently have 8.1 million active cards with a share of sales to identified customers of close to 50% as well as 70% more items per ticket and an average ticket that is 65% higher than the unidentified customers. This reaffirms our customers' acceptance and active participation in the program, given the exclusive advantages that we offer. As a result of the above, in the fourth quarter of 2025, the total revenue amounted to MXN 47.59 million (sic) [ MXN 47.59 billion ] representing a decrease of 2.9% compared to the revenue obtained in the fourth quarter of 2024. Consisting of a minus 2.6% in same-store sales as well as the unfavorable comparative effect of extraordinary items that were recognized in 2024. On an annual basis, the total revenue amounted to MXN 177,515 million, representing a decrease in total revenue of 0.9% compared to previous year. And as already mentioned, this is due in large part to the extraordinary revenue that we had in 2024, which make this comparison complex as well as the net effect of 3 openings, the increase in revenue from financial and real estate services and the decrease in same-store sales of 2.7% compared to same period last year. Continuing with the next line of the income statement, we have the gross profit for the quarter, which reached MXN 11.7 billion, representing 24.8% of sales compared to 23.8% in the fourth quarter of 2024, showing an expansion of 100 basis points derived from improved commercial conditions, promotion management and improved shrinkage results, which provides an increase of the quarter of 1.1%. On an annual basis, the gross profit reached MXN 42,764 million, representing 24.1% of sales compared to 23.7% in 2024, showing an expansion of 40 basis points and an increase of 0.8%. Moving on to expenses. In the fourth quarter, we reached MXN 8,432 billion (sic) [ MXN 8,432 million ], which is an increase of 6.9%, which, as I mentioned, was due to a strong control plan implemented since the end of the first quarter under the assumption that the increase of the minimum wage would have a significant impact on us. And after maintaining control throughout the rest of the year, we achieved a decrease in most of our expense accounts offsetting the most significant increase in the company's expense which is the personnel costs. Going forward, we will continue to implement strategies in 2026 to maintain spending levels and leverage increases in areas that are not 100% under the control of the company. On an annual basis, this figure reached was MXN 31,032 billion (sic) [ MXN 31,032 million ], representing a 3.5% increase figure that was very similar to inflation, even considering the increase in personnel costs of 7.8% which added strong pressure to expenses. As a result, EBITDA for Q4 in 2025 reached MXN 3,538 billion (sic) [ MXN 3,538 million ], representing a margin of 7.4% and a decrease of 9.4%. On an annual basis, it reached MXN 11,894 billion (sic) [ MXN 11,894 million ] representing a decrease of 6.4%. Net financial costs reached MXN 533 million in this quarter, showing a decrease of 25% due mainly to lower debt balance. On an annual basis, the net financial cost reached MXN 2,546 billion (sic) [ MXN 2,546 million ], a decrease of 15.8% compared to the previous year due to a debt reduction as well as a substantial improvement in working capital of MXN 3 billion, especially in the last quarter, which generated higher cash levels and as a result, a 53% increase in financial income. As a result of the above, net income for the quarter reached MXN 1,308 billion (sic) [ 1,308 million ], equivalent to 2.8% of sales. On an annual basis, the net income was MXN 3,334 billion (sic) [ MXN 3,334 million ], representing a 1.9%. Moving on to the company's investments. In 2025, we invested MXN 3,089 billion (sic) [ 3,089 million ] in CapEx used for 3 openings through in the market format in the states of Chiapas and Quintana Roo, which was a City Club as well as 4 major renovations. Three in Guadalajara, 1 in Acapulco and investment in operational continuity for all of our formats and systems. Finally, we made capital contributions to the joint ventures with Falabella and I am pleased to share that in 2025, the Falabella card has begun to operate with positive cash flow with around 900,000 customers and a credit portfolio close to MXN 7 billion. Sodimac already has 15 stores nationwide with 132,000 square meters of retail space and plans to expand with 4 more stores by 2026 in Mexico City, Pachuca and [indiscernible]. Finally, I'd like to add details on the progress of the alliance with FAZT aimed at building the most extensive network of ultrafast charging stations, which has already demonstrated high potential in the country due to the significant growth of the electric vehicle market in Mexico and social responsibility towards the environment, starting in 2025 with 10 stores in the main cities of Nuevo Leon, Mexico City and the state of Mexico Jalisco. This concludes the presentation for now. We thank you for listening your time and your participation. We'll now open the floor for questions where we will happily answer all of your concerns.

[Operator Instructions] The first question comes from Miguel Ulloa from BBVA.

Hello, good afternoon. My question is, what can we expect for 2026? What are the conditions that you are foreseeing in terms of Soriana's operation and how to recover market share?

Thank you, Miguel, for that question. We are still seeing a contracted market. However, since the first quarter of last year, we started adding very well directed strategies in all of our markets directed to specific types of consumers. And I believe that this year, we are much more prepared to face these challenges. We are carrying out important actions in the commercial strategy, particularly as it relates to customers with lower income, starting with our own brand products and also adding a more robust catalog to our stores as well as products that are more adequate in terms of size, weight and basic consumption products. And in a way, what we are aiming for there is to increase volume and adjust the margin a little bit, but looking for the pesos that are on the table there. So we started with the strategy for people with lower income. And in the case of the supermarket and hyper supermarket, we are also implementing the high-low strategy being much more aggressive in that market with a very different competitivity landscape than we saw in 2025. So I believe that in that way, we will be able to face the economic challenges in the country.

And in that sense, what are the type of results that you are expecting?

Hello, Miguel. So what we are aiming to do is to have a growth in same level stores of 3% to 5%. Even though Ricardo is saying that we see a consumer that is quite pressed or pressured in their possibility to spend. We believe that this is achievable and this will also be paired with a CapEx of MXN 4 billion similar to last year. And we will be capturing all of the benefits of everything that was worked on 2025. And I think that's something that should be helpful as well in terms of the results is that we implemented a shock plan that has provided good results in 2025. We have implemented the multifunctional collaborators plan looking for operational efficiency. In 2026, we will have those synergies running for 12 months. So that should also do some good to the results we're expecting.

[Operator Instructions] The next question comes from Alvaro Garcia from BTG Pactual. Please go ahead.

Thank you for this call. I would like to ask a little bit about the Sodimac issue. What are the perspective there for stores? And my second question would be that I know that restructures have happened at the level of stores and the corporate office. However, the labor -- the cost of labor has increased quite a bit of what we saw in previous years inside the stores. So what are the perspectives and the dynamics that you're foreseeing in terms of cost of labor in Mexico?

Thank you for the question, Alvaro. So regarding Sodimac, we are still seeing growth. The logistical plan that we started 8 years ago, we aimed for discipline and control of costs in physical items, particularly trying to push those areas in the country that are more dynamic. In that sense, the format is moving along correctly. Likewise, we are complementing the value proposition that we have, we have been incorporating more suppliers and more vendors which for some reason have their doors closed to us in the past due to pressures of other stakeholders, and we have been seeing improvement in that regard. So it's been a little late for that, but we are seeing substantial improvement. And in terms of the brand, there is some -- there's a need to continue working in certain cities around brand perception and also the type of business model that we have. However, market studies show that it is being well accepted in terms of the great variety of offer that we have and the model in general. We still need to cover and to find a critical math in certain areas. We hope that this year and mid-2027, we should be in a different place in that specific type of format in the country. And also the long-term plans are still strong. This is a market that is not very well cared for in Mexico. It is a market that is filled with other concepts, not with the full offer that we can provide to go towards people, for example, in construction or housewives. So this is something that we are still trying to push forward. And regarding the second question regarding the restructuring of the cost of labor, we had to implement a very important adjustment in terms of renewing internal processes in the stores so that the restructure does not or would not affect the service that we provide. We have also been implementing technology for better service in the payment points also having self-service in certain stores, which has allowed for efficiencies to cut the cost of labor using technology and that is something that is working well. We have been implementing this plan for more than 8 months now, and we are ready to face the 40-hour work week. And we are implementing proactive measures there based more -- much more on productivity and trying to implement more effective types of processes.

That was the last question. This ends the Q&A session for today. I will now pass the floor to Mr. Ricardo Martin Bringas for final comments and wrap up. Thank you.

Yes. I would just like to thank you all for your attention. And of course, we are here to respond to any further questions you might have, please don't hesitate to contact us here at the office. Have a great day.

All conference hosts have hung up. This conference is over. Thank you. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]