D&S First Quarter Results

SANTIAGO, Chile, May. 02 /PRNewswire/ --

SANTIAGO, Chile, May 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Distribucion y Servicio D&S S.A. announced earnings for the first quarter 2008:

Highlights I Quarter 2008 -- Net income increased 11.7% to Ch$11,081 million (US$25.3 million). Net margin increased 20 bp. to 2.4% of revenues. -- 12.0% increase in EBITDA, which totaled Ch$37,669 million (US$86.1 million). EBITDA margin increased 40 bp. to 8.0% of revenues. -- Operating income up 16.4% to Ch$22,332 million (US$51.0 million). Operating margin increased by 50 bp. to 4.8% of revenues. -- Gross income up 6.3%, amounting to Ch$136,018 million (US$310.7 million). Gross margin increased by 20 bp. to 29.1% of revenues. -- 5.6% increase of net revenues to Ch$468,142 million (US$1,069.5 million). -- New store openings: 13 new stores have been added compared to the closing of the first quarter 2007. Of these, 7 are Express by LIDER, 5 are Hiper LIDER and 3 are stores of the new warehouse concept, Superbodega Acuenta. Additionally, one Express store was closed, one was transformed into a warehouse Acuenta, and one Hiper LIDER store was remodeled adding 1,716m2 of sales area. All this accounted for a net increase of 41,608 m2 of sales area, equivalent to an increase of 9.0% over total sales area at March 31, 2007. Additionally, 22 new Ekono stores have been added to the 14 existing at March 31, 2007, totaling 36 stores in operation. -- Financial debt reached US$1,325.6 million, 55.5% short term. -- Net income for the quarter = Ch$1.70/share; Ch$101.97/ADR; US$0.23/ADR.

*Figures in this report are expressed in US$ Millions, drawn from figures in Chilean pesos restated by the CPI at March 31, 2008 and converted into dollars using the observed exchange rate for the same date (1US$=Ch$437.71).

Results of Operations -- First Quarter 2008

The following table sets forth the main items of the income statement for the periods indicated, their respective percentages of net revenues and percentages change between periods:

I Quarter Consolidated Results 2008 2007 Var. Ch$ US$ % Ch$ US$ % % million million of million million of Rev. Rev. Sales 382,228 873.2 81.6% 363,510 830.5 82.0% 5.1% Other Income 85,914 196.3 18.4% 79,953 182.7 18.0% 7.5% Net revenues 468,142 1069.5 100.0% 443,464 1013.1 100.0% 5.6% Cost of sales 332,124 758.8 70.9% 315,474 720.7 71.1% 5.3% Gross Income / Margin 136,018 310.7 29.1% 127,989 292.4 28.9% 6.3% Recurring Operating Expenses 98,192 224.3 21.0% 94,125 215.0 21.2% 4.3% Start-up Expenses 157 0.4 0.0% 234 0.5 0.1% -32.9% Total Operating Expenses (SG&A) 98,349 224.7 21.0% 94,358 215.6 21.3% 4.2% EBITDA 37,669 86.1 8.0% 33,631 76.8 7.6% 12.0% Depreciation 15,337 35.0 3.3% 14,451 33.0 3.3% 6.1% Total Operating Expenses 113,685 259.7 24.3% 108,810 248.6 24.5% 4.5% Operating Income 22,332 51.0 4.8% 19,179 43.8 4.3% 16.4% Financial Expenses (7,418) (16.9) -1.6% (6,524) (14.9) -1.5% 13.7% Other Non-operating Income (Expenses) (240) (0.5) -0.1% (412) (0.9) -0.1% -41.6% Monetary Correction (1,343) (3.1) -0.3% (325) (0.7) -0.1% 313.0% Non-Operating Income (9,001) (20.6) -1.9% (7,260) (16.6) -1.6% 24.0% Income before Tax 13,331 30.5 2.8% 11,919 27.2 2.7% 11.8% Income Tax (2,264) (5.2) -0.5% (2,022) (4.6) -0.5% 12.0% Minority Interest 14 0.0 0.0% 23 0.1 0.0% -38.4% Income 11,081 25.3 2.4% 9,920 22.7 2.2% 11.7% Amortization of Goodwill - 0.0 0.0% - 0.0 0.0% Net Income 11,081 25.3 2.4% 9,920 22.7 2.2% 11.7% Currency of March 2008, exchange rate US$=Ch$437.71 of March 31, 2008. For an extended version, visit our website: http://www.dys.cl For further information, please contact: Alejandro Droste Chief Financial Officer adroste@dys.cl 56-2-484 7754 Miguel Nunez S. Finance Manager mnunez@dys.cl 56-2-484 7754 Loreto Bradford Investor Relations Officer lbradford@dys.cl 56-2-484 7757