Arcos Dorados, the principal McDonald's franchisee in Latin America and the Caribbean, obtained until September an attributable net profit of 112.3 million dollars (101.8 million euros), which represents a drop of 39.9% compared with the same period of the previous year, as the company said this Friday.
By contrast, revenue increased by 12.8%, reaching 3.850 billion dollars (3.491 billion euros). Of that amount, sales from restaurants operated directly by the company totaled 3.674 billion dollars (3.331 billion euros), while those from franchised locations reached 175.5 million dollars (159.1 million euros), with increases of 12.8% and 14.2%, respectively.
By geographical areas, Brazil was the main driver, contributing 1.514 billion dollars (1.373 billion euros), 19.4% more. Next came the rest of South America, with 1.311 billion dollars (1.189 billion euros), which implies growth of 7.9%, and the North America division, which generated 1.024 billion dollars (928.4 million euros), 10.4% higher.
Arcos Dorados' adjusted gross operating result (Ebitda) stood at 370.7 million dollars (336.1 million euros), which represents a year-on-year drop of 7.9%, with a margin on sales of 9.6%.
At the same time, the sum of operating costs and other expenses incurred by the company rose to 3.643 billion dollars (3.303 billion euros), which represents an increase of 15.4% compared with the same stretch of the preceding fiscal year.
Looking only at the third quarter, Arcos Dorados recorded a profit of 31.2 million dollars (28.3 million euros), 79.3% lower, along with revenues of 1.328 billion dollars (1.204 billion euros), 11.3% higher than the previous year.
"We have had a solid third quarter, with an increase in total revenues of more than 11%. Growth was due to the average amount of consumption and encouraging trends in customer traffic," said Luis Raganato, CEO of Arcos Dorados.
Share repurchase program and openings plan
In this context, the top executive detailed that Arcos Dorados' board of directors has approved the launch of a class A share repurchase program for a maximum amount of 25 million dollars (22.7 million euros) and valid for six months.
In addition, the multinational had already communicated in March that it maintains its expansion plan for 2026, which includes the opening of between 105 and 115 new restaurants, as well as a capital outlay (capex) of between 275 and 325 million dollars (249.3 and 294.7 million euros).