Retailer Cencosud sees LatAm 'recovery' in 2024

By Kylie Madry

(Reuters) -Chilean retailer Cencosud will have a "recovery year" in Latin America in 2024, particularly in the first half, Chief Financial Officer Ines Ostenrieder said on Wednesday.

Last year was particularly challenging, Ostenrieder told analysts on a call, one day after the Santiago-based company posted a 35% drop in annual net profits due to hyperinflation in Argentina and slower consumption across the board.

Excluding the effects of Argentine inflation, Cencosud's fourth-quarter results topped analysts' expectations.

Sales in Argentina grew double digits in the quarter, while they climbed 5% in Brazil and 8.5% in Colombia, when converted to Chilean pesos.

Cencosud's 2024 outlook is "realistic" considering the ongoing macroeconomic challenges, Ostenrieder said, citing estimates for slightly weaker revenues and adjusted core earnings, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

"Yet there could be upside when looking at operations excluding Argentina," JPMorgan analysts said of the forecast in a research note.

"When excluding Argentina from the 2023 base and 2024 projections, Cencosud sees sales growing around 9%, while adjusted EBITDA should grow 18% year on year."

Cencosud shares rose more than 3% in afternoon trading.

The retailer expects "slightly improved" results this year for its department stores and shopping centers in Chile, investor relations manager Marisol Fernandez said.

Cencosud's supermarkets in Chile will also face a challenging year, though sales were up in the first few months, she noted.

In the United States, Cencosud is eyeing "sustained growth," Chief Executive Rodrigo Larrain said, particularly in "adjacent markets," he said.

It is also working to boost profitability in Colombia and Brazil, Larrain said, without elaborating.

(Reporting by Kylie Madry and Marion Giraldo; Editing by Richard Chang)