SAO PAULO, Feb 22 (Reuters) – Latin American e-commerce large MercadoLibre on Thursday reported a $165 million fourth-quarter internet revenue, as increased gross sales had been offset by a tax hit, with outcomes flat versus the year-ago interval.
The web revenue was dented by two one-off taxes provisions in Brazil totaling $351 million, and got here in under the $356 million internet revenue forecast by analysts polled by LSEG.
MercadoLibre stated the provisions mustn’t have a cloth money influence going ahead.
Senior vp of technique and company growth Andre Chaves advised Reuters that the market had been ready for the tax provisions, following native courtroom rulings linked to differential Brazilian charges and funds to Argentina.
Excluding the one-offs, MercadoLibre’s internet revenue would have been $383 million.
MercadoLibre posted a 42% year-on-year improve in quarterly internet revenues to $4.26 billion, bringing earnings from operations – excluding one-offs – to $572 million from $322 million a yr earlier. Gross sales in Brazil, its largest market, rose 35% as measured by gross merchandise quantity.
Analysts had anticipated internet revenues of $4.12 billion.
MercadoLibre, nicknamed the Amazon of Latin America, has reported robust development over the past quarters, however analysts have questioned its means to keep up its tempo of development with profitability.
The agency stated its quarterly working margin with out one-offs stood at 13.4%, in contrast with 18.2% within the third quarter, however because of changes it was unclear how comparable the numbers had been.
“Seasonally, we all the time have margin compression within the fourth quarter,” Chaves stated, including that MercadoLibre was impacted by components similar to extra promotional spending, notably for Black Friday in Brazil and Buen Fin in Mexico.
Brazil brings in additional than half the corporate’s internet revenues, whereas Argentina and Mexico every contribute round a fifth.
On the firm’s fintech arm, Mercado Pago, internet revenues grew 34%. (Reporting by Andre Romani; Modifying by Leslie Adler)