ASSAÍ: REVENUE REACHES R$ 20 BILLION IN THE QUARTER, LEVERAGE CONTINUES TO DECLINE

SÃO PAULO, Nov. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Assaí Atacadista (ASAI) reported solid results for the third quarter of 2024, with revenue reaching R$ 20.2 billion, a 9.3% year-over-year growth, reflecting the maturation of its expansion strategy and continued strengthening of its customer base.

Focusing on profitability and financial sustainability, pre-IFRS16 EBITDA grew by 12.1%, reaching R$ 1 billion, with a 5.5% margin, exceeding sales growth. Leverage decreased to 3.52x (-0.13x vs. 2Q24), reinforcing the company's commitment to sustainable financial growth, aligned with its goal of achieving levels below 3.2x by year-end.

"In the third quarter, we achieved significant progress," highlighted Belmiro Gomes, Assaí's CEO. "Continuing our improvement of the debt profile, we successfully issued debentures in October, totaling R$ 2.8 billion, at a cost lower than the company's average debt cost. We started the process of reducing net debt and continued lowering leverage, aiming to reach a level below 3.2x by the end of 2024," he stated.

Gross profit increased by 10.7%, reaching R$ 3 billion with a 16.4% margin (+0.2 p.p. vs. 3Q23), while pre-IFRS16 net income stood at R$ 198 million, a 10% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Post-IFRS16, the quarterly net income was R$ 156 million, with a net margin of 0.8%.

Same-store sales (SSS) rose by 2.6%, despite a challenging economic environment with food deflation and pressure on purchasing power. The maturation of its 117 stores opened in the past three years continued, along with the strengthening of its differentiated services, such as butcher shops, bakeries, and deli sections. During the quarter, the company opened four new stores, bringing the total to 297. The company expects to exceed 300 stores in operation by the end of 2024.

Since the end of the first quarter, Assaí raised R$ 5.3 billion in loans and capital markets, extending the average debt maturity to 41 months (vs. 32 months in March 2024) and reducing the average debt cost to CDI+1.40% (vs. CDI+1.49% in March 2024).

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