Positivo (POSI3) earnings are 43% lower, at R $ 28.9 million in the third quarter, and lowers the expected total revenue for 2023.

The company indicated that it was affected by the decline in revenues in this period and the exchange rate change resulting from the large volume of hedging contracts that were settled in this quarter. In 3Q22, there was a profit of R$19 million from TRS (Total Return Swap) operations.

Without this impact, he noted, profits for the quarter would have fallen by 9%, and net margin would have risen by 0.4 percentage points.

EBITDA reached R$122 million in Q3 2023, in line with Q3 2022 (-1%), with EBITDA margin of 14.3%, up by 2.8 percentage point compared to the previous year, and 1.5 percentage points higher than the previous year. Second Quarter.

According to the company, the margin was boosted thanks to the gradual recovery in consumer and private projects.

Net revenues amounted to R$849 million, a year-on-year decrease of 20.2%.

Total revenues of R$1,033 billion in Q3 2023 showed a 19.1% decline compared to Q3 2022, and an acceleration of 15% compared to Q2 revenues. “Compared to the previous year, this quarter’s revenues were mainly affected by the postponement of purchases by public institutions, an impact partially offset by growth in consumer and private projects (the start of deliveries of electronic voting machines),” he said.

The leverage ratio was 1.6 times, a decrease of 0.3 times compared to 3Q22, benefiting from the decrease in net debt.

He emphasized operating cash generation of R$105 million in 3Q23, supported by the improvement in working capital despite the unfavorable seasonality of the period.

Review forecasts

Positivo also reported on Monday that it had revised its 2023 total revenue forecast to between R$4.6 billion and R$4.8 billion, according to a related fact.

Previously, estimates for this year ranged from R$5.5 billion to R$6.5 billion.

“The macroeconomic scenario remains challenging, with continued high interest rates impacting important retailers more strongly as they seek to reduce their inventories and tighten purchasing conditions,” the company explained.

(With Reuters)