Lojas Americanas reverts prejudice and have profit of R $20 mi in 1st Qtr, with Easter

SAO PAULO (Reuters)-the American stores reported on Thursday that it had net profit of 20 million reais in the first quarter, reversing a loss of 133 million in the same period to 2017. The first-quarter results were influenced positively by the calendar effect, with Easter-related sales concentrated in the period. The company showed cash generation as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) adjusted from 523 million dollars from January to March, 36,7% advance compared to the previous year. The adjusted Ebitda margin climbed 1.8 percentage point on the same basis of comparison, for 13%, movement influenced by the growth of the marketplace operation of B2W. Consolidated net revenue rose 17,5%, to 4.02 billion reais. Only the registered 29,6% increase in this line, peaking at 2.57 billion reais. From January to March, the Company opened 14 new stores and has 130 contracted stores. For the year, the company maintains the goal of opening 200 new stores. B2w ecommerce operation, B2W, had a loss of 115 million dollars from January to March, almost 35% less than the amount a year earlier. Already the company's adjusted Ebitda grew 59,3% on the same basis of comparison, to 67.4 million reais. The Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV), used to measure the total sale in the marketplace that occurs in a given period, advanced 24,1%, for 3.1 billion reais. The marketplace of B2W reached 1.4 billion in the period, GMV 86,5% high.