May 7 (Reuters) - Chilean retailer Falabella on Tuesday

posted a net profit for the first quarter, reversing a year-ago

loss, boosted by operations in Peru.

The store operator and financial services provider's net

profit reached 58.50 billion pesos ($59.55 million) for the

January to March period.

The result was driven by an operating profit for the

retailer's Peru unit, while its units in Chile, Colombia and

Brazil trimmed year-ago losses.

Revenues, meanwhile, were up 4% to 2.86 trillion pesos,

largely explained by the foreign-exchange effect of the weaker

Chilean peso against stronger local currencies.

Falabella saw increased visits to shopping centers and

reduced its inventories by 11% in the quarter, CEO Alejandro

Gonzalez said in a statement.

Its loan portfolio gained 1% year-over-year, though

delinquent payments also rose slightly to 4.4%.

Core earnings, or earnings before interest, taxes,

depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), more than doubled to

296.95 billion pesos.

Falabella operates supermarkets, department and home

improvement stores, as well as delivery and financial services

across Latin America, including in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia,

Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and its home market of Chile.

($1 = 982.38 Chilean pesos at end-March)