Americanas reduces losses in 2023, but debt levels remain high

Photo: Cris/Dragonfly Press

Amid its bankruptcy protection program, Brazil’s retail giant Americanas published its delayed results for the first three quarters of 2023 this Monday. After reviewing the equally delayed 2022 report, released in mid-November, markets eagerly awaited these results.

Between January and September last year, Americanas’s losses decreased by 23.5 percent to BRL 4.61 billion (USD 923.14 million), compared to BRL 6.03 billion a year earlier. Its debt levels, however, remained elevated: BRL 33.44 billion, 10.6 percent higher than a year before. Gross debt levels remained roughly stable at BRL 38.37 billion.

Chief executive Leonardo Coelho told analysts that the nine-month results still reflect problems that arose shortly after the company filed for bankruptcy protection: lack of consumer confidence and restrictions on the supply of goods.

“Trust cannot be recovered with speech. We are an ocean liner that cannot change its direction from one moment to the next. We are gradually making the numbers transparent to all stakeholders, showing where we are getting things right and wrong, and pursuing our primary objective of returning to profitability in 2025,” he said.

Having filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2023, reporting nearly BRL 43 billion (USD 8.62 billion) in short-term debt and later admitting...

Fabiane Ziolla Menezes

Former editor-in-chief of LABS (Latin America Business Stories), Fabiane has more than 15 years of experience reporting on business, finance, innovation, and cities in Brazil. The latter recently took her back to the classroom and made her a Master in Urban Management from PUCPR. At TBR, she keeps an eye on economic policy, game-changing businesses, and people driving innovation in Latin America.