Sonae cuts profits to 42 million and breaks sales record until March – Empresas

For a loss of 59 million euros in the first quarter of 2020 and a profit of only 1 million euros in the same period last year, the Sonae Group closed its accounts through March with a net result of 42 million euros, year-over-year. EBITDA grew 17.2% for the year to €149 million.

Sales grew by 5.1% to a record 1.69 billion euros, with the MC (Continente) business contributing nearly 1.3 billion euros, up 3.8% over the first three months of last year.

“The start of 2022 has been very good for Sonae. Our business has continued to deliver a successful performance in its markets, and the group has maintained a strong growth trajectory, with better profitability levels, resulting in a greater appreciation for the portfolio,” says Claudia Azevedo, Sonae CEO, in the accompanying letter To view the calculations for the first quarter of 2022, which were published on Wednesday, May 18 in the Securities Exchange Commission (CMVM).

Claudia Azevedo also highlights figures that embody a strong capital structure, with leverage ratios and comfortable liquidity levels: “Our consolidated performance, combined with our portfolio management activity, has generated €627 million of ‘free cash flow’ in the past 12 months, This allows a significant reduction in net debt of around 600 million euros.”

Strictly speaking, net debt reduction was 588 million euros last year, of which 368 million euros were between January and March 2022.

At the same time, it invested 110 million euros in acquisitions in the first three months of this year.

“These results were achieved in a very difficult context, marked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” notes Claudia Azevedo, noting that “although Sonae was not directly and materially exposed to these countries,” the group companies “felt indirectly the effects of the conflict, specifically from Through the increase in energy prices, the spread of inflation and the restrictions in supply chains, having managed to overcome these challenges.”

However, “regardless of the evolution of the global economy and financial markets, with our portfolio of businesses, our strong financial position and the competence of our teams, we are well positioned to navigate this cycle of uncertainty, continue to strengthen our competitive positions and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves,” As the CEO of the Maya-based group says.

Fashion is booming, Wharton is down, and Sierra triples its profits

With business units, as well as giant MC, which Sonae says “continues to gain market share”, the spotlight goes into the fashion space, exploring brands like MO, Salsa and Zippy “with Zeitreel able to return to sales levels in the quarter The first of 2019, after two very difficult years for the fashion industry, affected by the restrictions of the pandemic”, having closed the first three months of 2022 with a turnover of 96 million euros, representing an annual increase of 57%.

In sports, sales of ISRG (Iberian Sports Retail Group), Sonae’s joint venture with JD Sports, which owns the SportZone brand, grew 66% to €366 million, with the online channel boosting 15.7% to 21.1% in volume. business, “mainly due to the acquisition of Deporvillage,” Sonae admits.

Worten, after two consecutive years of significant growth, “the electronics market in Portugal contracted in the first quarter of 2022, mainly due to the context of the epidemic in the first quarter of 2021, which significantly benefited the online channel and boosted sales of computer products.” In addition, another “less strict winter”, which “limited the search for seasonal classes.”

“This unfavorable context for the electronics market and the reorganization of supply in mainland Spain contributed to the reduction of sales volumes [da Worten] from 4.1% to €261 million in the first quarter of 2022”, reveals Sonae.

In Sierra, which embodies the real estate business of the group, especially shopping centers, “the beginning of 2022 showed positive signs of recovery”, where net income tripled to 9.8 million euros and asset valuation increased by 5.1% to 972 million euros, which also highlights the This tenant increased sales by more than 90% year over year.

In the field of financial services, the volume of production of the universe increased by 23% to 257 million euros, after it conquered “96 thousand new customers compared to the first quarter of 2021, and reached about 989 thousand at the end of the first quarter of 2022”. Confirms.

Recorded sales figures of €373 million as of March, which translates to an annual growth of 10.6%, driven by the media and entertainment sectors (over 71.1%) and telecommunications (9%), “with a positive contribution from the impact of mobile subscriptions, and service solutions for the sector B2B and roaming revenue due to fewer travel restrictions,” explains Sonae. Profits increased 35% to 41 million euros compared to the first quarter of last year.

Finally, Bright Pixel (formerly Sonae IM) remains “active in its portfolio management business,” adding multiple sales (leaving Safetypay and ciValue) and purchases (joining Experify and Hackuity), having also participated in Cybersixgill’s €35 million financing round.

“At the end of the first quarter of 2022, the capital invested in the active portfolio amounted to 159 million euros, and the net asset value was 378 million euros,” Sonnai concluded, in relation to the activity of its technology investment arm in the first three months. this year.

However, after the end of the quarter, Bright Pixel agreed with Thales Europe to sell all of the capital and voting rights to Maxive, a holding company that includes S21sec and Xyllium.

“The transaction has a core ‘corporate value’ of €120 million and is estimated to have a positive impact on Sonycom’s consolidated results of approximately €63 million,” Sonae details.