Guararapes's profit grows 137% in the quarter

The Guararapes, controller of the fashion retailer Riachuelo, recorded net income of r $ 71.4 million in the first quarter, up 137% compared to the previous year. The net revenue of the company in the period advanced 19.7%, to R $ 891,4 million.
In stores open more than a year ago-same-store-sales rose 6.7 percent compared to a year earlier.
However, in its performance report, the company pointed out that the indicator should present a lower growth in the second quarter compared with the first three months of the year due to likely holidays during the World Cup. With that, the gross margin for the second quarter is expected to remain stable compared to the previous year, reported the Guararapes.
In the first quarter, the Guararapes presented growth of 2.4 percentage points in the gross margin of goods. According to the company, the growth of the indicator is a result of the strong control of production costs, further development of modal pieces in industrial plants and investing in style and product teams.
Before interest and taxes, the Guararapes had profit of R $ 92.8 million, more than double the recorded a year earlier.
According to the company, the internally produced goods accounted for 31.9% of the total sale of Riachuelo in the quarter. According to company information, that ratio is included in the strategic planning, since the retail business should grow at a rate higher than the Group's production capacity. In addition, reported the company, own production capacity is increasingly being used for the production of higher value-added parts.
The result of the company was benefited by the financial performance of the group, Midway, whose profit doubled to $ 50.4 million in the first quarter. Revenue advanced 21.2%, to R $ 215,79 million, with an emphasis on the growth of 41.5% in revenue from personal loan and easy drawing.
Sales revenue with interest and fines, which account for the biggest slice of the revenue of Midway, increased 15.5% in the quarter compared to the same period last year.
The Guararapes plans to open 40 stores this year, and Riachuelo ten will be inaugurated in the second quarter. In March, the company had 213 flag stores Riachuelo.