SMU, the supermarket company, reported on Monday the financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2023, achieving annual revenues of CLP 2,862,383 million, an increase of 1.3% compared to the CLP 2,826,314 million generated in 2022.

The company's sales performance was consistent with industry trends during the period, reflecting changes in consumer habits due to adverse economic conditions. To optimize their household budget, customers are buying in smaller quantities, preferring smaller product formats, and substituting cheaper products, resulting in a decrease in the average ticket.

"The decline in the average ticket has been observed at the industry level, but it is important to note that the number of customers continues to increase in all our formats, and they are visiting the stores more frequently, so we believe we are well positioned for when consumption starts to recover. On the other hand, through our innovative promotional activity and development of own-brand products, we have provided solutions that facilitate savings for our customers," stated SMU's General Manager, Marcelo Gálvez.

EBITDA for the year 2023 reached CLP 262,480 million, similar to 2022, and the company's EBITDA margin was 9.2% (9.4% in 4Q23).

In this regard, Gálvez noted, "We have managed to maintain EBITDA margin levels above 9%, despite the adverse economic situation, through a lot of discipline, both in commercial terms and operational efficiency, which is also evident when looking at administrative expenses, which saw a slight decrease in the fourth quarter, despite inflationary pressures and minimum wage increases."

In terms of net profit, there was an increase of 15.4% compared to 4Q22, reaching CLP 36,042 million. For the year 2023, the profit was CLP 87,274 million, down by CLP 44,785 million (33.9%) compared to the CLP 132,059 million obtained in 2022, explained by the negative variation of CLP 55,904 million in income tax, due to high inflation that affected deferred taxes in 2022. However, when comparing profit before taxes, this effect is eliminated, and there is a 13.2% improvement in 2023 compared to the previous year. Likewise, the profit before taxes for the fourth quarter of 2023 was higher by 45.7% compared to 4Q22.

SMU's General Manager also referred to the improvement in the company's financial position, explaining, "Despite the complex economic situation, in 2023, we had a solid operational cash generation. Additionally, in November, we reached an agreement to pay for the insurance for the acts of vandalism that occurred in 2019 for CLP 53 billion, which were mostly paid in January 2024, not reflected in the December 2023 cash. This way, we started 2024 with financial flexibility to address our investment plan and debt maturities for the period."

Regarding SMU's strategic plan for the 2023-2025 period, significant progress is highlighted in omnichannel growth during 2023, reaching a total of 14 new openings, including the inauguration of six Montserrat project stores during the fourth quarter. The openings of the year included nine Unimarc stores, two Super10 stores, and two Alvi stores, as well as one Maxiahorro format store in Peru. Additionally, e-commerce managed to increase the penetration of our online sales, from 2% in 2022 to almost 3% in 2023, mainly on the Unimarc.cl platform.