Fomento Economico Mexicano SA, or FEMSA, posted a net loss in the fourth quarter of 2017 due to accounting changes at Coca-Cola FEMSA SAB de CV's Venezuelan operation.
The bottler and retailer recorded a net loss of 9.70 billion Mexican pesos, compared with a net income of 8.83 billion pesos in the year-ago period.
The accounting changes resulted in a noncash, one-time impact to the company's other nonoperative expenses that was partially offset by a foreign exchange gain of 6.35 billion pesos.
Net majority income plunged 72.6% to 1.83 billion pesos in the fourth quarter from 6.67 billion pesos in the same period a year ago.
Consolidated revenues increased 11.5% to 122.50 billion pesos for the fourth quarter from 109.91 billion pesos a year ago.
Total revenues at FEMSA Comercio's retail division grew 10.1% to 40.18 billion pesos on the back of 527 net new OXXO convenience stores in the fourth quarter.
FEMSA Comercio's health and fuel divisions saw revenues increase 2.3% and 26.4% to 12.57 billion pesos and 10.18 billion pesos, respectively.
FEMSA also controls Coca-Cola FEMSA, which reported a fourth-quarter 2017 net loss of 24.25 billion pesos, compared to a profit of 3.51 billion pesos in the prior-year period.
For full year 2017, FEMSA's net income rose 36.9% to 37.21 billion pesos from
Full-year revenues grew 15.3% to 460.46 billion pesos from 399.51 billion pesos in the year-ago period.
As of Feb. 27, US$1 was equivalent to 18.81 Mexican pesos.
