Bombril reverses and ends quarter with profit of r $ 500 thousand

SÃO PAULO-driven by a strong jump in sales, the cleaning products manufacturer Bombril ended the first quarter with a profit of $ 500,000, reversing the losses of the same magnitude registered a year earlier.
Revenue rose 32.3% to r $ 273.5 million. Costs rose in greater proportion, 33.6% to r $ 159,8 million. As a result, the gross margin fell 0.5 percentage point to 41.6%.
Operating expenses, in turn, rose 20.2%, to R $ 105,3 million. The earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) more than doubled, from r $ 6.2 million in the first quarter of 2012 for R $ 14.6 million in the same period this year.
The financial result prevented a greater recovery on the last line of the balance sheet. Spending on interest payments and exchange rate increased by 24.5%, to r $ 2.5 million. In addition, the company paid R $ 6 million in income tax and Social contribution on net profit between January and March this year, while, in the same range as last year, had accounted for tax credits of r $ 2 million.