Grupo Bimbo has a presence in more than 30 countries in America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Mexican baking giant Grupo Bimbo’s profits fell 89.2% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, to 3.26 billion pesos (about $192 million), affected by the exchange rate, the company said on Monday, February 19th.
In addition to the appreciation of the Mexican currency, the company’s net income was affected by the effects of the sale of its Ricolino branch, and the Multiemployer Pension Plans (MEPPs), excluding these it would have noticed a smaller year-on-year decrease of 10.8 percent.
The total income of Grupo Bimbo, with a presence in more than 30 countries in America, Europe, Asia and Africa, decreased by 6.5% to 101,883 million pesos, compared to the same period in 2022.
Throughout 2023, the company experienced “the negative effect of the US dollar-Mexican peso exchange rate,” said Diego Gaxiola, the company’s financial director, in the statement.
As in the previous two quarters, the Mexican peso’s value had an increase of around 13% year-on-year compared to its price at the end of 2022, which has been affecting the results of a large part of the national companies with business abroad.
Fourth-quarter net sales in North America were down 14.6% in the period, a decline that would have only been 4.2% without taking into account the exchange rate.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell 6.6% to 13,678 million pesos, also weighed down by the exchange rate situation.
While in Mexico, Grupo Bimbo’s EBITDA grew by nearly 21% year-on-year to 7,330 million pesos, in Latin America as a whole it reported a drop of more than 29%, to 639 million pesos.
San Miguel Times
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