Atacadão (CRFB3) Q3 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Consolidated gross sales reached R$29.5 billion in Q3 2024, up 4.8% year-over-year, with strong like-for-like growth in Cash & Carry (+5.6%), Retail (+7.1% ex-petrol), and Club (+3.2%).

• Adjusted EBITDA grew 5.0% to R$1.54 billion, maintaining a 5.7% margin, while adjusted net income nearly doubled to R$412 million.

• Synergies from the Grupo BIG merger reached an annualized R$2.7 billion, with a target of R$3 billion by end-2025.

• Store network optimization continued, with 27 openings and 174 closures in the last 12 months, focusing on higher-performing formats.

• E-commerce penetration reached 10.5% of sales, with GMV up 21% and strong growth in 1P food.

Financial highlights

• Net sales increased 5.0% year-over-year to R$26.8 billion; gross profit was R$5.15 billion (+0.4% YoY), with a gross margin of 19.2% (-84 bps YoY).

• SG&A expenses fell 2.9% to R$3.6 billion, improving as a percentage of net sales to 13.6% (-89 bps YoY).

• Adjusted EBITDA margin held steady at 5.7%; adjusted net income margin improved to 1.5%.

• Free cash flow for the last 12 months was R$2.7 billion, down 47.8% year-over-year due to temporary working capital investments.

• R$680 million in synergies captured in Q3 24, with an annualized run-rate of R$2.7 billion.

Outlook and guidance

• Management reaffirmed the synergy target of R$3 billion annualized by end-2025 and capex guidance of R$2.3–2.6 billion for 2024.

• The company expects temporary working capital effects to reverse in Q4 and is well positioned for the key holiday quarter.

• Targeting 20 new Cash & Carry stores and 27 format conversions in 2024.