By Anthony Harrup

MEXICO CITY--Mexican retail and beverages company Fomento Economico Mexicano said net profit rose by a third in the fourth quarter as sales and operating gains increased.

The company better known as Femsa reported net profit of 12.71 billion Mexican pesos ($740 million) for the October-December period, up by 34% from the year-earlier quarter. A foreign exchange loss on the company's U.S. dollar-denominated cash position and lower interest income was offset by lower income tax.

Revenue increased 5.7% to MXN220.09 billion with growth in all business units.

Stripping out exceptional and other one-off items, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 15% to MXN39.73 billion, and operating profit increased 8.5% to MXN24.55 billion.

Revenue at the Oxxo convenience store chain grew 5.3%, with same-store sales up 4.4% reflecting a 5% increase in average ticket and a 0.6% reduction in customer traffic.

Drug store sales rose 4.6% on the year. Oxxo Gas service station revenue increased 3.6%, with comparable sales up 8.7% on a 10% increase in volume and 1.2% decline in fuel prices. Sales in Europe rose 2.5%. Soft drinks unit Coca-Cola Femsa reported a 2.9% increase in fourth-quarter sales, with sales volume up 1.3%.

"As we look ahead at 2026, despite still facing a soft but stabilizing consumer environment and recently implemented taxes on important categories in our key Mexico market, we like our current momentum across most of our business units," chief executive Jose Antonio Fernandez Garza-Laguera said.

In January, the Mexican government raised excise taxes on soft drinks and tobacco.

Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 25, 2026 09:31 ET (14:31 GMT)

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