BUZZ-Mexico's Alsea slides after Q4 profit miss

Shares in Mexican restaurant and cafe chain operator Alsea ALSEA.MX slide almost 3%, after dipping nearly 6% in early morning trading, a day after publishing Q4 results in which its net profit landed well below analysts' forecasts

Alsea on Tuesday posted a 45% dip in net profit, coming in at 575 million pesos ($27.5 million), compared to the 935 million pesos estimated by analysts polled by Reuters - even though revenues grew some 11%

"Profitability was mixed," say analysts at Actinver Research, pointing to a lower gross margin and a tough comparative basis with the previous year, nevertheless concluding that Alsea's results were overall solid

"Challenging dynamics persisted in Europe and South America, and we note a material jump in financing costs again impacting net income," add analysts at Scotiabank

Both brokers say the company's 2025 guidance is in line with their forecasts

($1 = 20.8829 pesos at end-December)