Vibra has a net profit of R$1.26 billion in the 3rd quarter after a loss a year earlier By Reuters

2023-11-07 02:25:18

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SÃO PAULO (Reuters) – Vibra recorded a net profit of 1.26 billion reais in the third quarter, reversing a loss of 61 million reais in the same period of the previous year, the fuel distributor said on Monday, citing better operational results , financial and the sale of ESgás.

Analysts, on average, expected net profit of 881.1 million reais, according to data from LSEG.

Vibra said that the market dynamics in the third quarter, with rising fuel prices and reduced competitiveness of imported products, enabled the company to leverage results, increasing margin and reducing debt.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) was 2.33 billion reais in the quarter, an increase of 154.7% year-on-year. The adjusted Ebitda margin jumped from 89 to 248 reais per cubic meter.

The increase in profit came despite a drop in adjusted net revenue to 43.2 billion reais in the quarter, 15.3% lower compared to the same stage of the previous year.

Sales volume fell 8.7% year on year, to 9.4 million cubic meters, highlighted by lower sales of diesel (-9.2%), gasoline (-10.3%), aviation fuel (-6.2%) and coke (-35.5%), in a movement mitigated by the increase in sales of (+1.6%).

“We understand that this dynamic of volume reduction comes from our market segmentation strategy and that, over time, it should be normalized at levels higher than the current ones, recovering Vibra’s usual ‘market-share'”, said the company in results report.

In the quarterly comparison, however, sales volume rose 4.3%.

Adjusted operating expenses, which exclude effects from commodity hedges, decarbonization credits, non-recurring tax recoveries and property sales, totaled 709 million reais, an increase of 14.4% compared to the months of July to September 2022, due to , mainly, from reversals of provisions that occurred during that period, said Vibra.

At the beginning of July, Vibra concluded the sale of Companhia de Gás do Espírito Santo (ESgás), a distributor of gas, to Energisa (BVMF:).

(By André Romani and Patrícia Vilas Boas)