Cencosud Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2016 Results

-Revenues in local currency up except for Brazil; reported revenues fell 6% due to currency depreciation

-Adjusted EBITDA rose 11.9% in 2016 with Adj EBITDA margin of 7.4% from 6.2% previously

-Profit for the year of CLP 388 billion, up 67.2% compared to 2015

-Same store sales improved in most markets and businesses over the year

-Net Financial Debt / Adj EBITDA ratio fell to 3.2x

SANTIAGO, CHILE / ACCESSWIRE / March 2, 2017 / Cencosud S.A. (CENCOSUDCNCO, a leading South American retailer with operations in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Colombia, today announced its consolidated financial results for the fourth quarter of 2016. All figures are in Chilean pesos (CLP), except where indicated otherwise, and in accordance with IFRS.

• For the fourth quarter, revenues were 6.5% lower to CLP 2,850,956 million due to currency devaluation. In local currency, Cencosud had positive revenue growth in all businesses across the region.
• Same store sales accelerated year on year across supermarkets in Chile, Argentina and Colombia, and in Home Improvement in Chile and Colombia.
• Adjusted EBITDA of CLP 220,313 million in 4Q16 with a 7.7% Adjusted EBITDA margin compared to 9.3% in 4Q15, an unusually high margin and the highest figure in the past 16 quarters.
• Net Profit for the quarter was CLP 157,453 million, 16.0% lower YoY, affected by currency moves.

Please visit investors.cencosud.com to obtain the full fourth quarter earnings release, including financial results and tables.

Management Comment

Cencosud cemented its position as South America's retail leader against a challenging macro backdrop with strong FX headwinds during 2016 - executing on strategic initiatives, with a deeper focus on margins and profitability. Importantly, we continued to strengthen our value proposition in different markets, tailoring our pricing and promotional activity, and reviewing underperforming stores to ensure a lean and efficient operational model.

A softer year-end was due to economic deceleration in some markets and currency depreciation. Despite lower reported sales, Adjusted EBITDA margin was 7.7% for the fourth quarter, a solid standalone result.

For the year, revenues in local currency grew in all countries except Brazil, while Adjusted EBITDA rose 11.9% to reach CLP 765,955 million. SSS also improved in most markets and businesses over both the full year and fourth quarter. Our ongoing balance sheet management was reflected in a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 3.2 times for 2016 from 3.3 times in the prior year.

As the macro backdrop shows signs of improvement, we are focused on accelerating revenue growth, underpinned by our strategic pillars. We will also continue with our strategy of selling non-core assets and businesses, and are committed to gradually strengthening our financial and debt indicators.

We are confident of achieving guidance for revenue and Adjusted EBITDA in 2017 supported by our expectations of a stronger macro environment in Argentina, Brazil and Peru, a more stable FX backdrop, and the continuation of healthy market conditions in Chile and Colombia.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call to discuss these results on Friday, March 3, 2017 at 11:00AM Chilean time/ 09:00AM EST. To participate on the day of the call, dial +1(888) 349-0108, +1(412) 902-4201 or +1230-020-0479 approximately ten minutes before the call and tell the operator you wish to join the Cencosud Conference Call. A webcast of the conference call will be available online at http://services.choruscall.com/links/cnco170303.html.

The archived version of the webcast and a telephone replay of the conference call will be available at approximately 1:00 p.m. Santiago / 11:00 a.m. Eastern time until March 10, 2017. Callers can access the telephonic replay by dialing +1 (877) 344-7529 or +1 (412) 317-0088 and utilizing the passcode 10101964 when prompted.

Forward-Looking Statements:

In addition to historical information, this release contains "forward-looking statements" that reflect management's expectations for the future. The forward-looking statements included herein represent Cencosud's views as of the date of this release. A variety of important factors could cause results to differ materially from such statements. These factors are laid out in Cencosud's filings with the SVS in Chile and the SEC in the United States. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason unless required by law.

Corporate Communications

Renato Fernandez Phone
+5622959 0025
renato.fernandez@cencosud.cl

Investor Relations

Maria Soledad Fernandez
Phone +5622959 0545
mariasoledad.fernandez@cencosud.cl

Natalia Nacif Phone
+5622959 0368
natalia.nacif@cencosud.cl

Valentina Klein
Phone +5622200 4395
valentina.klein@cencosud.cl

SOURCE: Cencosud S.A.