Gruma, one of the main corn flour producers in the world, reported a third quarter with mixed results, with growth in sales, but falls in operating cash flow (EBITDA), compared to the same period of 2020.
Net sales for the period increased 2%, to 23,903 million pesos due to more sales in the United States, due to the increase in the price of corn flour, both in the US and Mexican markets.
Although the falls were observed in EBITDA (profit before financing, income tax, depreciation and amortization), which decreased 7%, closing at 3,694 million pesos, while majority net income contracted 10%, to 1,478 million pesos, due to exchange rate effects.
Gruma stated that its cost of sales rose 7% to 15.293 million pesos due to higher corn prices and inflation in other raw materials (unspecified), as well as higher labor costs in the United States and Europe. “The third quarter reflected a positive evolution in the tortilla retail channel in the United States and in Europe, in addition to the gradual recovery of the industrial tortilla channel in these two divisions,” said the station in the report sent to the Mexican Stock Exchange. (BMV).
“Gruma’s report was neutral, since although the volume in the US presented an attractive rebound (considering the exchange rate effect), in Mexico, like the rest of the regions, the context was very modest. We anticipated a difficult comparable base in 2020, both in volume and operating results. By 2022, the focus will be on the market share in the US, on the rebalancing of the product portfolio, the operating scenario with a possible commodities market with some normalization, ”said Roberto Solano, coordinator of Stock Analysis at Monex.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx