PERU – At the end of the second quarter of 2016, sales of home improvement chain Maestro, a subsidiary of Sodimac (the home improvement chain of Chile’s Falabella Group), amounted to 657,7 million soles, representing a decrease of 2.6% compared to the same period of 2015. 

This decrease is mainly explained by the slowdown in the country’s economy, which meant a reduction in domestic consumption and a drop in the construction sector.

Operating income for the year amounted to 27.5 million soles, below the figure of 41.1 million soles presented in 2015. In terms of sales, operating income represented 4.2% this year, a figure lower than the 6.1% reported for the second quarter of 2015.

In addition, the 2016 EBITDA amounted to 47.2 million soles, below the figure of 60.7 million soles reported in 2015. As a percentage of sales EBITDA decreased from 9.0% in 2015, to 7.2% in 2016.

Finally, profit in the first half of 2016 amounted to 2.4 million soles, compared with a profit of 9.8 million soles recorded in the same period of 2015.

The company, that currently operates 30 stores in the country, said it expects to continue to expand its operations to the extent that the economic context allows.