Brazil’s Grupo Mateus To Open 28 Stores By End Of 2023
Brazilian major food distributor Grupo Mateus is set to ramp up its pace of new store openings in the latter half of 2023, with plans to unveil 28 outlets during this period.
Since the beginning of this year, Grupo Mateus has already launched 14 stores, in addition to establishing three new distribution centers.
In the second quarter of 2023, the company introduced three new stores, and this was followed by four more openings in July in locations including João Pessoa, Bayeux, Cabedelo, Caninde, and an additional one in Juazeiro do Norte in August.
The network now spans approximately 244 stores, located in 93 cities across nine states in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil. Within this total, 104 operate under the Eletro banner, 64 as Mix Mateus, 37 as Mateus Supermercados, and 34 as Camino Supermercados.
Impressive Sales Performance in the First Half
During the second quarter of 2023, Grupo Mateus reported a net profit of R$295 million (approximately €54.7 million), marking a robust increase of 13.2% in comparison to the same period in the preceding year.
The net revenue surged by 23.6% to reach R$6.4 billion (approximately €1.2 billion), accompanied by a remarkable 10.4% growth in like-for-like sales. The retail sector, encompassing supermarkets, hypermarkets, and local stores, recorded a gross revenue of R$1.9 billion, showcasing a year-on-year growth of 15.7%.
The EBITDA also witnessed a substantial rise of 18.8% to R$482 million (approximately €89 million), with the EBITDA margin holding steady at 7.5%, marking a 0.5% increase. Capital expenditures (Capex) surged by 18% to reach R$270 million (approximately €50 million).
Túlio Queiroz, the Director of Financial and Investor Relations, indicated that the most pronounced impact on profitability linked to the expansion strategy was concentrated in the years 2022 and 2023.
While the third quarter is expected to see some cash consumption, the company envisions “significant cash generation” during the final three months of the year.
As the third-largest large-scale grocery retailer in Brazil, Grupo Mateus follows in the footsteps of Grupo Carrefour and Assaí Atacadista.
