SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian food retailer Assai said on Thursday it now forecasts it will open some 10 new stores next year, half the prior estimate of about 20, according to a securities filing.

Assai, which operates a chain of stores in a hybrid wholesale format, has started last year to slow down its expected store openings as its management works to financially deleverage the company after an aggressive expansion.

It went from opening 60 stores in 2022 to 27 in 2023 and a target of about 15 this year. The firm said on Thursday it expects to resume expansion only in 2026 with an estimate of some 20 store openings.

Assai added it sees its financial leverage - as measured by net debt/EBITDA - at about 2.6 times by the end of 2025, while also affirmed its target to reach less than 3.2 times this year.

Assai said the projections, which also include investments in cash terms between 1 billion reais ($176.92 million) and 1.2 billion reais for 2025, were based mainly on a recent interest rate hike in Brazil and changes in local yield curve.

($1 = 5.6522 reais)