FEMSA Announces Third Quarter 2016 Results

MONTERREY, MEXICO -- (Marketwired) -- 10/28/16 -- Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. ("FEMSA") (NYSE: FMX) (BMV: FEMSAUBD) (BMV: FEMSAUB) announced today its operational and financial results for the third quarter of 2016.

Third Quarter 2016 Highlights:

• FEMSA consolidated total revenues increased 27.4% and income from operations grew 9.3% compared to the third quarter of 2015, mainly driven by the integration of Socofar into FEMSA Comercio's Health Division and solid growth at FEMSA Comercio's Retail Division. On an organic basis,(1) total revenues increased 14.0% and income from operations grew 3.8%.
  
  
• FEMSA Comercio -- Retail Division achieved growth in total revenues of 12.3% and income from operations of 6.4% compared to the third quarter of 2015, reflecting new store openings and a 5.7% increase in same-store sales.
  
  
• FEMSA Comercio -- Health Division total revenues amounted to Ps. 11,194 million compared to Ps. 1,580 million in the third quarter of 2015, and income from operations increased from Ps. 42 million in the third quarter of 2015 to Ps. 396 million in the same period of 2016, mainly reflecting the integration of Socofar. On an organic basis,1 total revenues increased 10.7%.
  
  
• FEMSA Comercio -- Fuel Division revenues increased 34.9% and income from operations increased 57.3% compared to the third quarter of 2015.
  
  
• Coca-Cola FEMSA total revenues increased 12.5% and income from operations grew 3.2% compared to the third quarter of 2015, reflecting growth in the average price per unit case across most operations and volume growth in Mexico and Central America. On a currency neutral basis and excluding Venezuela, total revenues and income from operations grew 5.6% and 6.6%, respectively.
  
  

Carlos Salazar Lomelín, FEMSA's CEO, commented: "During the third quarter, FEMSA Comercio continued its strong pace of growth across divisions, increasing revenues by almost 40 percent versus the comparable period of last year. At the Retail Division, OXXO once again delivered solid top line growth, driven not just by the sustained pace of new store openings, but also by a robust increase in same-store sales of 5.7 percent, against a very demanding comparison base. At the Health Division revenue growth was also strong, while the operating margin in Mexico reflected the intensity of our work on the integration of a single operating platform, as well as the longer maturation process of our stores in new regions of the country such as the state of Veracruz. Meanwhile in South America, where we recently made a small bolt-on acquisition, our drugstore operations continued to perform ahead of plan. For its part, the Fuel Division saw double-digit growth in same-station sales, as well as healthy price-driven improvements in profitability even as we made progress in our sustained expansion strategy and in the re-branding of our existing stations with the new OXXO GAS image.

"At Coca-Cola FEMSA, during the third quarter we saw a tale of two regions. In Mexico, a supportive consumer backdrop combined with our execution to drive incremental transactions, volumes and pricing, resulting in a solid top line for this key operation. However, most of our markets in South America continued to face adverse consumer and macroeconomic environments, and we saw raw material cost pressures across territories, particularly sugar; therefore our results reflect these ongoing challenges.

"As we head into the final months of 2016, there is much work to be done but we are cautiously optimistic as we set our objectives for next year for which we have, as always, high expectations."

To obtain the full text of this earnings release, please visit our Investor Relations website at www.femsa.com/investor under the Financial Reports section

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This report may contain certain forward-looking statements concerning our future performance that should be considered as good faith estimates made by us. These forward-looking statements reflect management's expectations and are based upon currently available data. Actual results are subject to future events and uncertainties, which could materially impact our actual performance.

FEMSA is a leading company that participates in the beverage industry through Coca-Cola FEMSA, the largest franchise bottler of Coca-Cola products in the world by volume; and in the beer industry, through its ownership of the second largest equity stake in Heineken, one of the world's leading brewers with operations in over 70 countries. In the retail industry it participates through FEMSA Comercio, comprising a Retail Division operating various small-format store chains including OXXO, a Fuel Division, operating the OXXO GAS chain of retail service stations, and a Health Division, which includes drugstores and related operations. Additionally, through its Strategic Businesses unit, it provides logistics, point-of-sale refrigeration solutions and plastics solutions to FEMSA's business units and third-party clients.

1 Excludes non-comparable results and significant acquisitions in the last twelve months.

Media Contact:
FEMSA Servicios SA de CV
(52) 55-5249-6843
Email Contact
www.femsa.com

Investor Contact:
FEMSA Servicios SA de CV
(52) 81-8328-6167
Email Contact
www.femsa.com/investor

Source: FEMSA Servicios SA de CV

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