SAO PAULO, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Brazilian food retailer

Assai posted on Wednesday a 45% increase in its

fourth-quarter adjusted net profit, rising to 430 million reais

($75.14 million).

Analysts polled by LSEG had expected a 324-million-real

profit for the three-month period that ended in December.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Assai is one of Brazil's largest food retailers,

operating a chain of stores in a hybrid wholesale format.

Its management has been working in the last few quarters

to financially deleverage the company after aggressive expansion

in recent years.

BY THE NUMBERS

The retailer's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes,

depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came in at 1.64 billion

reais during the October-to-December period, up some 14%

compared to the same period a year earlier, and slightly

exceeding the 1.61 billion reais estimated by analysts.

Assai's net revenue rose 9.5% to total 20.2 billion

reais in the fourth quarter.

The company's financial leverage, which divides net debt

by its EBITDA, fell to 3.04 times from 3.8 times in the year-ago

period.

KEY QUOTES

Assai has decided to stick to its 2025 guidance of

opening about 10 stores, it said, citing high interest rates and

its focus on reducing its financial leverage for why it will not

go beyond the guidance.

For 2026, the number of new stores will likely be

revised down from the current 20 store guidance, Assai chief

executive Belmiro Gomes told Reuters.

"We have an indicative figure of 20 stores and this

should be reduced to a level similar to that of 2025," he said.

($1 = 5.7227 reais)