FEMSA to Expand its Gasoline Business Through OXXO GAS
The company best known for bottling Coca-Cola and operating Oxxo stores has plans to get into the gasoline business in a big way.
Femsa, or Fomento Económico Mexicano, is the largest beverage company in Mexico and Latin America and the world’s largest Coca-Cola bottler.
Now, with energy reforms setting the stage for private operators in the gasoline business, it plans to buy the gas station operations where it has agreements with Pemex franchisers and operates under the brand Oxxo Gas.
The company entered the gasoline business in 1995, but could only do so through third parties who had Pemex franchises. By the end of last year there were 227 such gas stations and they generated 16.2 billion pesos, nearly US $1.1 billion, in sales of gasoline and related products.
In addition, Femsa plans to lease, buy or open more stations in the future, it said in its fourth-quarter financial report, as it embarks upon an aggressive growth strategy in retail gasoline.
Femsa’s fourth-quarter profit was up 45%, mainly due to increased earnings from the beer maker Heineken, of which it owns 20%.
Its Oxxo chain of convenience stores grew nearly 10% to 12,853.
