Brazil's GPA says fourth-quarter sales rise 16.2 pct
Jan 13 (Reuters) - Net revenue at GPA SA, Brazil's largest diversified retailer, jumped 16.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, driven by buoyant growth in its food and wholesale segments.
The São Paulo-based company, controlled by France's Casino Guichard Perrachon & Cite, had net revenue of 16.89 billion reais ($7.2 billion) for the October-to-December period, compared with 14.53 billion reais in the same period of 2012, GPA said in a regulatory filing.
For the year of 2013, net revenue rose 13.7 percent to 57.73 billion reais.
According to the filing, net revenue at GPA Alimentary, the food segment mainly represented by the Pão de Açúcar supermarket brand, climbed 17.2 percent in the fourth quarter.
Net revenue for the wholesale segment, in which customers buy large quantities of goods at reduced prices, surged almost 38 percent as Brazilian prepared for year-end holidays.
Gross revenue at stores open for more than a year, known as same-store sales, rose 10.8 percent in the last quarter of 2013 and 9 percent for the whole year, GPA said.
