MEXICO CITY, April 29 (Reuters) - Mexican retail and industrial conglomerate Grupo Carso posted a 46 percent fall in first-quarter net profit on Tuesday as a cloudy industrial environment again dampened operating results.
Carso said its first quarter net profit was 459 million pesos, compared with 849 million pesos in the first quarter of 2002. The result was below expectations as the average forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts saw Carso's net profit dropping 40 percent to 507 million pesos.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell 3.5 percent to 2.078 billion pesos. The Reuters poll expected EBITDA to come in almost flat at 2.150 billion pesos.
As in the past several quarters, sluggishness in global industrial activity and the Mexican economy dragged on Carso's first quarter, flattening sales and earnings, though the retail operations fared better than the industrial side.
The Condumex unit, which produces cables for the construction, auto and telecommunications sectors and represents the largest chunk of EBITDA for the conglomerate, again suffered from low prices and weak demand, with sales dropping 6 percent from the same period a year ago, Carso said.