Via Retail sales accelerates GPA

Driven by a strong performance of Via retail (Ponto Frio and Casas Bahia, New Dotcom), net of Grupo Pão de Açúcar advanced 15.8 percent in the third quarter, to $ 14 billion, compared to a year earlier.
The performance of the company, reported yesterday, was above the expectations of J.P. Morgan, HSBC and Banco Espirito Santo, which projected, on average, high of 13.4% in the recipe.
Considering only the business Via retail, net revenues rose 17.4 percent, to $ 6.3 billion, with advance was of 15.4% on the ' same ' shops (open units for more than one year).
In the new Dot-com, online retail sales were discharged from 43.9%. It was the biggest quarterly growth for the last 12 quarters and it occurred due to the increased competitiveness in prices, said the GPA, in a statement to investors.
Preferred shares in the group closed the trading session yesterday at an all-time high of 4.55%. The movement gave the roles of rival Magazine Luiza and B2W, which rose 4.37 percent and 6.54%, respectively.
According to market operators, the numbers of the Retail part of the lightened uncertainties regarding the performance of this segment in recent months. "The second quarter was very bad for consumption ' discretionary ' [of non-essential products], which left the market quite cautious," said one, who declined to identify himself.
"The specialty stores [Ponto Frio and Casas Bahia] and the ' e-commerce ' accelerated the pace of sales compared to prior periods, while hypermarkets followed showing recovery of sales in this category [technology]," reported the GPA.
For the analyst Richard Cathcart, the Banco Espírito Santo (BES), the numbers are "strong evidence" of the "resilience" of the GPA on moderate consumption environment in Brazil. In a report to clients, Cathcart said he is confident that the good operating performance of the group in the third quarter can be repeated in the fourth.
Net sales of Food reached r $ GPA 7,74 billion in the third quarter, advancement of 14.5%. The highlight was the Assam network, which recorded high of 38.4%. The flag of "atacarejo" (wholesaler that sells to the final consumer) opened yesterday the ninth store of the year, in Feira de Santana (BA), scoring 70 points in the country.
In a note on the new unit of Assai, the Group stated that this format "has been growing above the market average and attracts not only the small and medium business, as well as the final consumer, who discovered this template a way to save with purchases of large volumes".
Sales ' same ' stores of Food soared GPA 10.8% in the quarter, pulled by the consumption of perishable. According to the GPA, those items-such as meat, vegetables and fruits-had sales above inflation, accelerating its growth outside the first half. The group reported that it has invested in price competitiveness to boost the traffic of stores and gain market share. The full balance of the company will be published on 16.