SANTIAGO, Chile, March 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Cencosud S.A. (NYSE: CNCO), a leading multi-format Latin American retailer with presence in five countries, announced today its consolidated financial results for the fourth quarter of 2012. All figures are in Chilean pesos (CLP), except where indicated otherwise, and in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Variations refer to the comparison between 4Q2011 and 4Q2012.

• Cencosud revenue increased 18% YoY, driven by the consolidation of Prezunic and Johnson earlier in the year, and Colombian Supermarkets in December, as well as positive Same Store Sales (SSS) in every division in Chile,Brazil, Argentina and Peru.
• The Company increased its total selling space¹ by 10%, opening 36 new stores in 4Q12 and 87 new stores in 2012.
• EBITDA rose 16% to CLP 247,182 million YoY, driven by improved results in the Supermarket, Department Store and Financial Service divisions.  
• Operating Income reached CLP 222,318 million, up 20% versus 4Q11, largely due to improved operating income from the Supermarket, Financial Service and Department Store divisions.
• Department Store EBITDA increased 13.5% to CLP 21,532 million and reported a margin of 7.5%. Only considering Paris stores, Department Store EBITDA margin was 9.5% in 4Q12.
• On December 1, 2012, the Company took over and began consolidating the results of Carrefour Colombia, making Cencosud the second-largest supermarket operator in Colombia.  The transaction, which included hypermarkets, convenience stores, cash and carry stores and gas stations with a total selling space of 444,000 m², was valued at €2 billion. The Company financed the acquisition with a USD 2.5 billion bridge loan.
• Cencosud issued USD 1.2 billion of debt in the international market in December 2012. The deal was highly successful, approximately 8 times oversubscribed, with a coupon of 4.875%, highlighting the Company's ability to access financing at privileged rates. The proceeds of the issue were used to pay down in part the bridge loan facility.

¹ Excludes the selling space added by Prezunic and Johnson acquisitions.

Consolidated Revenues

Consolidated revenues were CLP 2,581 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared with CLP 2,196 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, an 18% increase YoY. This increase was driven by the acquisitions of Prezunic and Johnson, the consolidation of the Colombian supermarket operation in December, revenues from Costanera Shopping center, positive SSS across almost all lines of retail businesses and the increase of 16% in selling area in 4Q12 versus the same period last year (selling area excludes Supermarkets Colombia). 

• Supermarket revenues in 4Q12 increased 18.5% YoY, reaching CLP 1,886 billion, driven by the consolidation of Carrefour Colombia in December 2012 (CLP 116,598 million), which explains 40% of the division's YoY variation. Additionally, the consolidation of Prezunic, positive SSS in Chile, Argentina and Peru and the opening of 78 new supermarkets in the region since December 2011, all helped drive revenue higher.  Total selling space rose 10%, not including the acquisitions of Prezunic and Carrefour.
• Home Improvement revenues increased 3.2% YoY, reaching CLP 288 billion in 4Q12.  The growth reflects a sales growth of 6.2% in SSS in Chile and the opening of two Easy stores (Costanera and Concepción). The results were partially offset by lower revenues from Argentina and Colombia, due to the appreciation of the Chilean peso. In the case of Argentina, even though the Company obtained double-digit SSS growth, the situation in the country has affected the construction sector of the economy, which has shown lower activity versus previous quarters. In the case of Colombia, scarcity of land and high prices in the market are also affecting the construction sector, showing a lower activity in addition to a higher competition, with an aggressive price strategy in a store located close to an Easy store.
• Department Store revenues totaled CLP 287,486 million, +27.4% YoY, driven by the consolidation of Johnson, four new Paris Stores opened since 4Q11 (Osorno, Costanera, Rancagua Centro and Quilin) and a 2.7% increase in SSS. Paris stores explain 9.2% of the sales growth and Johnson contributes with CLP 41,027 million or 14.3% of the total.
• Shopping Center revenues grew 31.0% YoY, reaching CLP 50 billion due to higher occupancy rates and sales, along with two new shopping malls (Costanera and Osorno) and the initiation of parking fees in Alto Las Condes and Osorno.
• Financial Services operations showed an increase in revenues of 7.6% YoY, totaling CLP 66 billion, reflecting higher revenues from Argentina and Peru due to a larger portfolio versus a year ago.

Please visit http://www.cencosud.com/inversionistas/ to obtain the full fourth quarter earnings release.

The company will hold a conference call to review the 4Q12 results on Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at 14:00 pm Santiago /12:00 pm Eastern Time with a live webcast available through its website.  The conference call dial-in is +1-866-652-5200 (United States) +1-412-317-6060 (international).

A webcast of the conference call will be available online at http://www.cencosud.com/inversionistas/ beginning at March 5, 2013, at 4:00 p.m. Santiago / 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, until April 5, 2013.