MercadoLibre's profit more than doubles in second quarter, beats estimates

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Latin America e-commerce giant MercadoLibre said on Thursday its net profit more than doubled in the second quarter from a year earlier, beating analysts' estimates with Brazil's operations standing out.

MercadoLibre, which operates a marketplace in 18 countries and also owns the fintech Mercado Pago, posted a $531 million net profit for the quarter ended in June, above the $432 million profit that analysts polled by LSEG expected.

MercadoLibre reported $5.1 billion in revenues, up 42% from a year earlier and outpacing the $4.68 billion projected by analysts.

Its sales as measured by Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) rose 20% year-on-year, driven by a 36% jump in Brazil, the firm's main market.

"We continue to gain market share in Brazil," Chief Financial Martin de los Santos told Reuters.

He said increases came mainly from consumers turning to the online market as well as from the company's investments to improve customers´ experience, which also put it in a position to gain market share from local competitors.

"We have made some right decisions to capture the opportunity that the Americanas' situation generated," he added, referring to the local retailer which filed for bankruptcy last year amid an accounting scandal.

He also said MercadoLibre's sales in Mexico rose above the rest of the market, while in Argentina results came in better after a tough first-quarter.

The company's operational results as measured by earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) were at $726 million in the quarter, up 9% year-on-year and above analysts expectations of $669 million.

However, Ebit margin decreased 4.4 percentage points year-on-year to 14.3%, with MercadoLibre citing negative impacts from reporting changes it had announced earlier this year, Argentina and provisions for doubtful accounts.

"When we accelerate growth of credits we book the losses upfront," los Santos said.

MercadoLibre's credit portfolio reached $4.9 billion in the quarter, 51% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, delinquency over 90 days fell yearly 6.6 percentage points to 18.5%, though climbed from the 17.9% in the first quarter.

(Reporting by Andre Romani and Luciana Magalhaes; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle and Diane Craft)

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