Alsea SAB de CV

BMV:ALSEA

Q1-2026 Earnings Call

[Gerardo Lapati, executive]

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Alsea's First Quarter 2026 Earnings Video Conference. My name is Gerardo Lozoya, Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs. Today, you will hear from our Chief Executive Officer, Christian Gurria; and Federico Rodriguez, our Chief Financial Officer.

Before we continue, a friendly reminder that some of our comments today will contain forward-looking statements based on our current view of our business and that future results may differ materially from these statements. Today's call should be considered in conjunction with disclaimers in our earnings release and our most recent Bolsa Mexicana de Valores report.

The company is not obliged to update or revise any such forward-looking statements. Please note that unless specified otherwise, the earnings numbers referred to are based on pre-IFRS 16 standards. I will now hand it over to Christian for his initial remarks. Please go ahead, Christian.

[Christian Dubernard, executive]

Thank you, Gerardo, Federico. Good morning, and thank you all for joining us in Alsea's First Quarter 2026 Earnings Video Conference. I will begin with an overview of our performance for the first quarter, highlighting key operating trends across regions and brands as well as our progress in digital expansion and ESG initiatives.

Federico, our CFO, will then walk you through our financial results in more detail. Before going into quarterly figures, I would like to briefly step back and reflect on how we started the year. As we shared during our Alsea Day in March, our focus remains on taking care of what matters most, our people, our customers and our resources. This means building the right portfolio, driving traffic through innovation and best-in-class service and improving profitability. The first quarter reflects a consistent execution of this approach.

Coming out of 2025, where we made deliberate decisions around portfolio focus, capital allocation and operational discipline, our priority has been to maintain that trajectory while navigating a challenging environment. In this context, we saw a continuation of the trends we highlighted in the fourth quarter.

The quarter started strong, particularly in January and February with solid traffic and stable demand across markets, followed by some moderation towards March as a result of the incidents, particularly in Guadalajara and states around. Despite softer consumption trends, ongoing cost pressures and limited pricing flexibility across the industry, we maintained robust operating performance, supported by the strength of our brands, our scale and our execution.

With that context, let me now turn to our first quarter performance. In the first quarter, we reported a 1.4% year-over-year increase in total sales, reaching MXN 20.1 billion or a 5.8% increase. Excluding foreign exchange effects, same-store sales grew by 4.1%. EBITDA increased 1.8% in the first quarter, reaching MXN 2.4 billion with a margin of 11.8%, increasing by 10 basis points year-over-year.

Regarding brand performance in the first quarter, Starbucks Alsea same-store sales increased by 3.5%. For Starbucks Mexico, same-store sales grew by 2.1%, supported by a strong start of the year and a stable demand, which was partially compensated by our high-demand commercial collaborations of Peanuts in 2025 and the negative impact from our Jalisco and other states events at the end of February.

For Starbucks Europe, same-store sales increased by 1.3%, with solid performance in Spain, while France remains challenged, also showing a gradual improvement. Finally, in South America, same-store sales rose 12.1%, driven primarily by Argentina. Excluding Argentina, same-store sales increased 5.5%, supported by strong performance in Colombia and an important recovery in Chile.

Domino's Pizza Asea posted a 5.3% increase in same-store sales, reflecting continued growth supported by the expansion of our delivery capabilities. In Spain, same-store sales increased by 5.1%, reflecting effective commercial execution, such as the launch of the Madrisima Pizza, which is made of sourdough, extra virgin olive oil and a slow double fermentation process. This is another example of how innovation is driving profitable traffic.

In Colombia, Domino's same-store sales increased 8.7% with continued strong momentum with a better-than-expected Domino's Mania value campaign.

Burger King Alsea same-store sales, excluding Argentina, increased by 0.7%. In Mexico, Burger King recorded an increase in same-store sales of 3.0%, showing early signs of recovery.

In Chile, same-store sales decreased 2.3%, reflecting softer trends during the quarter. The full-service restaurant segment delivered 4.3% same-store sales growth, remaining one of the most consistent performers during the quarter.

Full-service restaurants in Mexico increased by 4.9%, supported by higher order volumes and a strong value proposition across brands. I want to highlight Vips performance who grew 7.2%, driven by traffic generation from consistent execution of our value platform, Menuelvia.

Same-store sales for full-service restaurants in Spain grew 3.5%, reflecting solid performance across most brands with Foster's Hollywoods standing out, posting same-store sales growth of 7.5%.

Our expansion strategy continues to be guided by clear focus on quality, returns and capital efficiency. During the first quarter, we opened 32 new stores, 20 corporate units and 12 franchises. As in previous quarters, we remain focused on prioritizing high-return locations and formats while maintaining a disciplined approach to capital allocation.

As we highlighted in our most recent Alsea Day, remodeling continues to be a key priority across regions as store remodeling delivers attractive returns to improve customer experience, higher productivity and faster payback periods.

In addition, as previously announced, we are moving forward with our plans to introduce our new brands, Chipotle and Racing Cane's with the first store openings expected in the second half of 2026.

Our digital platforms continue to be key drivers of growth. By the end of the quarter, loyalty sales increased 12%, reaching MXN 5.5 billion, representing 26.4 million orders and contributing to 28.8% of total sales.

By the end of the quarter, loyalty sales increased 12%, reaching MXN 5.5 billion, representing 26.4 million orders and contributing 28.8% of total sales. We also surpassed 84 million active customers, which are around 200,000 more versus the fourth quarter across our loyalty programs, confirming the strength of our digital engagement and our loyalty base.

Additionally, we served nearly 35.7 million digital orders in the quarter, representing MXN 7.8 billion, which accounts for 41.2% of our total sales. During the quarter, we continued advancing our ESG as a agenda as a core pillar of our long-term strategy.

Fundacion Alsea achieved a record fundraising campaign through Movimiento Va Por Mi Cuenta, raising more than MXN 62 million and surpassing the previous year. These resources will support more than 40 million people in vulnerable communities during 2026 through programs focused on food security and in collaboration with multiple partners organizations.

Across our operations, we continue to strengthen our environmental and social impact in Europe. Domino's advancing its transition towards a low-emission delivery fleet, while we continued our food donation programs contributing to waste reductions and community support.

In South America, we supported communities affected by wildfires in Chile through food donations and fundraising initiatives, while our teams across the region continue contributing in local volunteering programs. These efforts continue to reinforce ESG as an integral part of how we operate. Let me now turn it over to Federico, our CFO, who will provide further insight into our financial performance. Thank you.

[Federico Rodriguez, executive]

Thank you, Christian, and thank you, and good morning, everyone. The sales increased by 1.4% in the first quarter, supported by effective commercial strategies and solid performance in Mexico, Spain and Colombia. Excluding foreign exchange effects, the sales increased 5.8%. During the quarter, disruptions in Jalisco and surrounding states resulted in a negative one-off impact of approximately MXN 60 million in revenues.

In the first quarter, sales in Mexico were up 4.9% to MXN 11.2 billion. In Europe, sales increased by 1.5% to MXN 6 billion, while in euro terms, sales increased by 6.3%. Finally, South America sales fell 10.7% to MXN 2.9 billion, mainly due to currency effects.

During the quarter, the gross margin was adversely affected by segment and geographic mix as higher cost businesses represented a larger share of sales, while Europe contributes less to consolidated cost of goods. Furthermore, as expected, the kickoff of the operations of the Guadalajara manufacturing and distribution center is on a stabilization stage. These impacts were partly offset by a favorable foreign exchange effect.

EBITDA increased by 1.8% with a margin expansion of 10 basis points, mainly due to disciplined execution and operating efficiencies across regions. By region. In Mexico, the adjusted EBITDA increased 5.8% with margin expansion of 20 basis points, supported by favorable cost dynamics, partially offset by higher labor expenses. In Europe, the EBITDA increased by 4.2% year-over-year with a margin expansion of 30 basis points, primarily due to same-store sales growth and operating leverage.

In South America, the adjusted EBITDA decreased by 14.3% with a margin contraction of 50 basis points, primarily impacted by currency effects and some pressure on labor cost. The same as in the revenue line during the quarter, disruptions in Jalisco and surrounding states resulted in a negative one-off impact of approximately MXN 25 million. It took from 3 to 6 weeks to recover the lost traffic. The net income for the first quarter decreased by 65.7% year-over-year, reaching MXN 115 million, reflecting the one-off impact from the early settlement of the debt refinancing, including derivative instruments related to the U.S. dollar bond of approximately MXN 250 million. Additionally, in 2025, we had a positive noncash FX gain driven by the strong Mexican peso. First quarter free cash flow improved year-over-year, mainly reflecting improved working capital management.

The CapEx for the 3 months of the year totaled MXN 876 million. Out of this total, 81% was allocated to store development initiatives, including the opening of 20 new corporate units, the renovation and remodeling of existing locations and equipment replacements across the brands. The remaining 20% was directed at strategic projects primarily focused on technology, process improvements and software investments.

By the end of the first quarter, the pre-IFRS 16 gross debt increased by MXN 666 million year-over-year, reaching MXN 35 billion. The company's net debt, not accounting the impact of IFRS 16 was MXN 29.7 billion, which is MXN 507 billion less than it was at the same time last year. This increase in gross debt reflects funding requirements related to CapEx and working capital during the quarter.

Consolidated net debt reached MXN 46.4 billion, including lease liabilities. At the end of the quarter, 88% of the debt was long term with 68% denominated in Mexican pesos and 32% in euros. We remain focused on maintaining a healthy capital structure supported by prudent financial management. At the end of the quarter, the cash position stood at MXN 5.2 billion.

Turning to the financial ratios. The total debt to post-IFRS 16 EBITDA ratio closed the quarter at 2.9x, while the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio stood at 2.5x. I will now pass you over to the operator for the Q&A session. Please, operator.

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] The first question is from Ms. Renata Cabral from Citi.

[Renata Fonseca Cabral Sturani, analyst]

So I have two, if you allow me. The first one related to the recovery in Europe. So my question is how are you seeing this evolving along the year? And my second question is about the digital capabilities because we saw that the company is generating around 40% from digital capabilities, which is a huge change compared to 5 years ago. So what is the path that you are considering in the digital, I mean, in terms of further efficiencies and at the same time, not be so much dependable on the aggregators?

[Christian Dubernard, executive]

Let me start by answering the second question. In terms of digital capabilities, as you clearly expressed, we continue growing on this particular channel. In the case of Domino's Pizza in Mexico, the growth comes directly with the implementation of full service with our aggregator -- with one of our aggregators in last year. So we are seeing clearly the benefit of having made this decision in the numbers of orders and how it's positively impacting our business. That's in terms of this particular channel.

Also linked -- this is also linked to our loyalty platforms. We continue expanding our loyalty base, particularly with Starbucks Rewards across our different geographies where the program has been launched. And also with Club By in Europe, which we have a very stable platform, which represents almost 38% of our transactions, our traffic. And to sustain this, we are also launching this Club By loyalty platform for our full service restaurants in Mexico, which has -- we have the know-how, we have the technology, and we're in the process of implementing by the fourth quarter of this year as well as improving the capabilities in our different apps. So this continues to be a clear channel that the customer is recognizing and that's why we are reacting in this way.

In the case of the recovery in Europe, we see a very stable performance in Spain. Clearly, in all of our brands, Starbucks with very positive trends in Spain as well as our full-service restaurant brands which clearly driven -- this has been clearly driven by innovation and our value proposition, which are -- I can give you the example.

We launched Madrisima, as I mentioned before, which is as we come from the launch of Crasan, which had extraordinary results. We export this to Mexico, import this to Mexico also with extraordinary results. And now with this innovation of the sourdough pizza, we are clearly seeing the customer recognizing this.

Talking about France, we see a more flat and slight recovery, but we expect -- we continue -- this year, we're going to invest an important amount of resources to drive and to change and shift this trend. But we expect this to continue being slow but steady recovery.

[Operator]

Our next question is from Mr. Froylan Mendez from JPMorgan.

[Fernando Froylan Mendez Solther, analyst]

How would you rate the Starbucks Mexico performance in the quarter same-store sales of 2.1% was well below the other banners. Do you see any specific source of acceleration for Starbucks on the remainder of the year? And a second question, if I may, how do you see gross margin evolving in your key regions given FX volatility, input cost dynamics and labor pressures? Two questions from my side.

[Federico Rodriguez, executive]

Regarding the gross margin, let me explain a little bit of the gross margin in the first quarter. We had a positive impact of around 60 basis points by the FX. Obviously, remember that from a sensitivity analysis, each peso has a mix of around 30 basis points into the gross margin. So we have around MXN 2 year-over-year. That means 60 basis points. And this was fully offset by the mix of the business, and that is the natural run of the business and around 20 basis points with the startup of operations in Guadalajara.

We expect to have something similar in the remaining part of the year. Obviously, we will recover it maybe in the second half of the year, the start-up of operations, and you will see a slight expansion, but it is positive. And as you can see, we're still expanding the EBITDA margins on a [ 4-wall ] level.

[Christian Dubernard, executive]

And let me complement Federico's answer, Froylan, and then go back to your first question. Part of this margin strategy is we are optimizing our value platforms to protect margins while using innovation to sustain perceived value and keep customers engaged. That has been key in the evolution of our value platforms, make sure we find the right margins, but at the same time, through innovation, keeping the customers engaged. In the case of Starbucks Mexico, we continue our journey, as I said, to bring our existing store portfolio to the right level of -- the conditions of our stores to the right level.

We continue remodeling stores and putting stores with -- at the right level of operation. And we are happy to see what we -- as mentioned by Federico, we have a strong January, strong February. Unfortunately, with the Guadalajara events at the end of the February, we had an important impact, particularly with the footprint we have with Starbucks across all these states and Guadalajara being one of our key markets. Clearly, it took us like depending on the states and the cities in some cities, 2 weeks after we were in the right track.

And then after -- and some states took us like until the first 2 weeks of April to come back to our previous prior to these events. So fortunately, we are back there. Also, it's important to mention that different innovation in drinks, particularly protein, the launch of the protein drinks campaign is driving very important, and it was an expected campaign. It's driving really positive traffic.

And likewise, we are with this platform coming soon about [ The Devil Wears Prada 2 ], which is really driving a lot of excitement across our customers. So we're seeing this driving important traffic across -- particularly in Mexico.

[Operator]

Our next question is from Mr. Alejandro Fuchs from Itau BBA.

[Alejandro Fuchs, analyst]

Congratulations on the results. I have a very quick one in Europe. I wanted to see maybe a little bit what do you expect for the rest of the year, right? We have many moving parts with probably commodity prices going up and maybe we could have some pressure on the consumer there, but results were quite good.

[Federico Rodriguez, executive]

Alejandro, we are really cautious around inflation and the energy because we believe that in 2021. By today, we have not seen any kind of pressure in the CPI for the Alsea index, and we are still trying to close all the positions for the relevant commodities. I'm talking around coffee, cheese, et cetera. But as of today, we are not seeing any kind of pressure, not only in the cost of food but in the electricity prices. Remember that in 2021, we had around EUR 8 million of pressure. But so far, so good, but we are taking a lot of precautions there.

[Christian Dubernard, executive]

I think, Alejandro, you are on mute. Alejandro, can you hear us? Let's go to the next question operator.

[Operator]

Our next question is from Ms. [ Venessa ] Melissa Byun from Bank of America.

[Unknown Analyst]

I apologize. I'm having some trouble with the audio. So I don't know if you've already answered this. But I was going to ask if you could comment on the increase in admin expenses in Mexico during the quarter. We saw 4-wall margin expansion, but a contraction in full EBITDA margin. And I just wanted to understand if there is anything nonrecurring. And then also on the expense side, I wanted to ask for an update in terms of the integration process for the headquarters in Mexico and South America. Where are you in that process? Do you anticipate any onetime expenses? And when should we begin to see some of those benefits flow through?

[Federico Rodriguez, executive]

Okay. Thank you very much, Melissa. Regarding the first question related with the expansion margin in the difference in the expansion margin in the EBITDA [ per wall ] and the total EBITDA of the company. Let's remember, that last year, we had a one-off positive noncash effect related with the releasing of the accrual of the long-term incentive of around MXN 150 million in the first quarter. When you normalize this effect in 2025, the EBITDA margin expansion in the first quarter of 2026 would be about 100 basis points. So this is more a comparison effect than something negative in the first quarter of 2026. Christian, do you want to comment?

[Christian Dubernard, executive]

Yes, I will answer the second question about the integration of Mexico and South America. We continue the process of consolidation. I can share with you that in terms of store development and expansion, we are pretty much done with the integration. Likewise, with supply chain and procurement, we have finalized the first stages of the integration. And we also continue executing different efficiencies around the divestment as we did the divestment of Chili's and P.F. Chang's in Chile. And also by the end of the month, starting the 1st of May, we will finish the process of divestment of our operations in Colombia of Archie's leaving this with -- continue with a strategy to optimize our portfolio and leading the region with the 3 brands with the South America region with Starbucks, Domino's Pizza and Burger King. So we continue on this consolidation.

We continue doing the different changes or shifts towards the reduced portfolio and the integration, as I mentioned, of the key -- certain key functions in the region. So the plan is going even a little bit faster than we expected, and we continue and think that by the end of the year, we will be fully integrated.

[Federico Rodriguez, executive]

Complementing Christian's answer regarding the synergy around the headquarters in Mexico, Europe and South America, Melissa, we had a positive impact of around 50 basis points because of these synergies. We'll see these synergies during the next 3 quarters. And obviously, it was offset by the positive noncash effect that I already talk first.

[Operator]

Our next question is from Mr. Ben Theurer from Barclays.

[Benjamin Theurer, analyst]

I hope you can hear me I wanted to dig in a little bit in what's been happening within your working capital on the cash flow because obviously, as we look at the investments last year were quite significant in the first quarter. And I mean, it was still an investment, but it was like less than half than what it was last year. So maybe help us understand a little bit what were the drivers of the improvement on the working capital needs here on a year-over-year basis? And then I have a quick follow-up question on Europe.

[Federico Rodriguez, executive]

Ben, I would say that we are working a lot. And remember at Alsea Day, we talk around the cash conversion from EBITDA. We pretend to have around 20% of the total EBITDA of the year into the treasury position by the end of 2026. And we are working in all the different legs. As you will see, we'll have a more rationalized CapEx of around MXN 840 million. And as said before, we are not running with the openings. We do not have any kind of pressure to have more openings while where we are really leveraging the businesses in the same-store sales.

And additionally, we are working with all the different suppliers to have a more rationalized working capital curve during the whole year. As you have seen, we were able to offset it around MXN 1 billion year-over-year in the working capital, and that's part of the commitment of the management with all the shareholders. So you will see this on the long term.

[Benjamin Theurer, analyst]

Okay. Perfect. And then real quick, coming back to Europe. I mean, we've seen that little improvement finally in France, but obviously, it's still, I would say, fragile. So I was just wondering, are there any initiatives you're currently working on? Or is there anything that's more like under your control as to address it and also then come back into what the commitments are with Starbucks in terms of growth and openings, et cetera, which I know has been a little bit more on the softer side, just given what the situation was?

[Christian Dubernard, executive]

Ben, yes, absolutely. We put together a plan in October, a very, I would say, strong plan in terms of capital or the resources we're going to invest there and also the strategy we're having there. I can tell you, I would like to summarize the plan in two.

First is every -- all the different commercial strategy around to turn around the market. with different initiatives in terms of the food program elevation, the different campaigns, very locally relevant campaigns, renovated beverage or innovative beverage portfolio, also supported with different licenses that I cannot disclose right now, but very expected and interesting licenses that have been proven successful in other geographies like Asia or even in Mexico. And on the other half is everything linked to brand equity and brand reputation, which the first part of the plan is to deliver short, middle-term results across the year. And the second is, let's say, a continuation of trying to bring back and build the reputation and the equity around the brand. That is what we are working on.

We understand that some of these initiatives are going to pay off during the second half of the year. And the other one in terms of reputation and brand equity will be to continue driving and positioning the brand across the market. That is also accompanied by certain leadership changes in the region, which we are optimistic that this will also drive and improve or accelerate the recovery in the market.

[Operator]

Our next question is from Mr. Ulises Argote from Santander.

[Ulises Argote Bolio, analyst]

Following up on Froy's earlier question, but just wanted to understand beyond the FX, we should also expect some improvement on the gross and EBITDA margins there coming from better raw materials. I know it's mixed on the different regions, and it's not a clear story, but just trying to get any additional color there. And basically trying to gauge if margin improvement should accelerate ahead, which is kind of think the expectations that we have in our minds over here.

And just another quick one on that is if you have any comments on how you're seeing the warm-up here to the World Cup? Any updates on expectations, anything on that and on the particular formats, that would be really helpful.

[Christian Dubernard, executive]

Like I said on the last question, we had the positive impact around the FX of 60 basis points. It was offset by the mix of the business. When I'm talking around this, I am talking the two brands that where we have more growth were Domino's and Starbucks. And obviously, the gross margin maybe is not that right like some other brands like in the casual business, but only talking at the gross margin level. Then obviously, when you see the EBITDA per wall, they are great contributors and you know perfectly well the payback that we have in these two brands.

And additionally, maybe the flat part of the gross margin is regarding the start-up of the distribution center in Guadalajara. This is not a surprise. We were expecting this, and it was included into the into the guidance that we delivered more than 1 month ago, it was around 20 basis points of negative impact. By the third and fourth quarter, we are eliminating this impact. So you will see an expansion of the gross margin in the last two quarters.

[Federico Rodriguez, executive]

Ulises, and let me share a little -- give you a little bit of color on what's going on and what we're expecting towards the World Cup. Specifically in Mexico, across all of our brands, we have very strong initiatives in Q2 around value and innovation. we continue considering innovation as one of our key levers to drive profitable traffic.

We are also, in a way, as you mentioned, levering the FIFA World Cup, but our initiatives go beyond and ahead of the World Cup. We are confident that World Cup will be a key driver in increasing traffic across our stores. And at the same time, we continue to execute our remodeling plan. For example, in Foodservice Mexico, we pretty much are done with all our remodelings and investment in technology, particularly in our Chili's brand which, as you know, is one of the preferred places to see the games and sports.

And we are done with remodeling. So we are ready for the World Cup traffic. And likewise, in Starbucks, we remain on track to deliver our committed plan. So this -- we expect a strong performance in the months of May and June due to these particular initiatives that, as I mentioned, are beyond the World Cup. We understand the World Cup is a moment in time, but we are -- we have strong initiatives to be able not to also -- not only to profit from the World Cup, but also to continue driving the traffic through innovation and value.

[Operator]

Our next question is from Mr. Antonio Hernandez from Actinver.

[Antonio Hernandez, analyst]

Can you hear me there?

[Federico Rodriguez, executive]

Yes, we can.

[Antonio Hernandez, analyst]

Perfect. I just wanted to get a sense regarding any consumer perspective on perhaps how Vips is behaving lately and your outlook for the year, especially as the consumer overall environment hasn't been that up. So any specific strategy there that can prepare you for the remainder of the year? And maybe if the World Cup is also a tailwind there?

[Federico Rodriguez, executive]

You mentioned Vips. As you have seen in the results of Q1, Vips continues driving strong traffic into their stores. I would say that the main initiative and the main driver of this is the Menuelvia, which, as I mentioned before, by adjusting and adapting our value proposition with new dishes, we keep the customer engaged, but at the same time, we are careful to maintain the margin. And clearly, this is not a consequence of actions from the first quarter. This is a consequence of, I would say, a consistent execution on this platform, which clearly the customer is recognizing.

And as I mentioned and answer to Ulises question, we are pretty much focusing our initiatives on value and innovation. I'm sorry, I have been repeating myself on these particular words, but it's clearly what we are seeing with innovation is that it's the most profitable traffic drivers, driving way to do it. We can go to drive traffic through promotions or to lowering prices. But the reality is that we are clearly recognizing that innovation is what is driving the most important and profitable traffic across our different brands.

And as I mentioned, we have a strong list of different actions across our different brands, not only in Mexico, likewise in South America and Europe to maintain this particular trends.

[Operator]

Our next question is from Ms. Isabella Lamas from UBS.

[Isabella Pinheiro F. Lamas, analyst]

A quick one from our side. I would like to go into further details about the protein-based beverage for Starbucks that you've mentioned previously. If you could comment a bit more on the level of growth you're seeing and how is consumer adoption growing and maybe how good that could be in the midterm? And also a bit more of detail in terms of ticket prices and how this could be maybe accretive to margins and every more detail that you could share, I would appreciate it.

[Federico Rodriguez, executive]

Sure, Isabella. Protein, the protein platform was very much expected in Mexico and other geographies like in Europe. This -- the way we like to describe innovation is through breakthrough innovation, disruptive innovation and category innovation. So innovating over the same platforms that we were already having. So this particular protein innovation kind of falls between disruptive or -- and at the same time, category innovation, which is pretty much based on our beverage platform.

So we are happy with the with the results, we are in line with the expected results of this particular platform. But most important is how we can continue building on top of it. It's -- right now, we did the launch, but eventually how you continue evolving and building over this particular platform. I will -- Gerardo, I will ask Gerardo to share with you specific details on the USDs and how this has been positively impacting traffic in the stores. But clearly, we are happy and optimistic about what we have -- what the platform has delivered so far.

But most important is the prices, as I mentioned a few seconds -- a few minutes, innovation, when you innovate in drinks and certain categories, you can do put certain markup on the prices. And this allows us to have a profitable base of -- on our beverage portfolio without impacting margins. But clearly, most important is how this drives traffic to our stores. And we have this influence from the U.S. So in a way, this platform was pretty much expected a few months ago.

[Operator]

Our next question is from Mr. Alvaro Garcia from BTG Pactual.

[Alvaro Garcia, analyst]

I have a question on interest expense. Can you hear me?

[Christian Dubernard, executive]

Yes, we can.

[Alvaro Garcia, analyst]

Awesome. I have a question on interest expense for Fed. Obviously, big liability management in early January, early in the quarter. It would seem to be that the benefits of that weren't fully reflected in the quarter. So if you could speak to maybe how much of the increase in interest expense was driven by IFRS related items versus your sort of core interest expense on your debt service would be really helpful.

[Christian Dubernard, executive]

Yes, Alvaro. As I mentioned in my remarks, we had a one-off impact from the early settlement of the debt, the breakup of -- or the unwind of the forwards that we had in place for the USD bond, and this was around MXN 250 million. This is a one-off for the year, and it was completely taken into account with the refinancing.

And additionally, in 2025, we had a positive noncash FX gain of around MXN 130 million. And that's fully reflected in this quarter, and that's the 100% of the increase.

Going forward, you will see reflected the savings that we talked about 2 months ago of around $25 million year-over-year.

[Alvaro Garcia, analyst]

So the MXN 250 million is reflected in your interest expense this quarter?

[Christian Dubernard, executive]

Exactly.

[Alvaro Garcia, analyst]

Great. Cool. And then maybe just one last one on Spain. We haven't spoken about Vips in Spain for a while. So how do you think the World Cup could impact traffic there? And how do you feel about Vips Spain in an environment where sort of consumer confidence is waning?

[Federico Rodriguez, executive]

You mean Vips Spain or Mexico?

[Alvaro Garcia, analyst]

[indiscernible] Spain?

[Federico Rodriguez, executive]

The reality is that Vips Spain is one of the -- as I mentioned before, one of our very consistent and best performing brands across the portfolio. I'm going to answer the question in two ways. First of all, for -- particularly for Mexico, the brands that we see that are going to be most benefit by the World Cup are going to be Chili's, Starbucks and Domino's Pizza due to obviously -- in the case of Chili's, it's the preferred place to go and see sports and the games and the schedules of the games are very convenient in order for us. Obviously, Domino's with the nature of delivery and historically has been a preferred brand to share with the games. And in the case of Starbucks, obviously, with the incremental traffic that we're going to have in different cities, not only the cities that are going to be hosting the games, but also some of the airports and some of the additional venues that are going to be linked to the games in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. In the case of Spain, I mean, I would say that is not necessarily going to be benefited by the World Cup. It's more the different initiatives that we have launched around the menu innovation, around new platforms, which are driving different incremental traffic.

Right now, we launched a new sandwiches campaign, which is performing extremely well with some bringing back classics, but at the same time, with interesting innovations as a Torta sandwich and other more premium products and also a platform that we call the -- perfect Plato Perfecto, which is driving a different type of we continue pampering our existing consumers, but we are launching different platforms that are driving a new type of consumer, some dishes that are a little bit more priced with a more premium dishes, but also at the same time, what we call Plato Perfecto, which are dishes which have a very friendly menu for business and office workers.

So in a way, I'm sorry, I cannot link to the World Cup performance, this particular brand and particularly in Spain, but more with what they are doing with different platforms to continue engaging traffic, existing and new traffic.

[Christian Dubernard, executive]

The brand that will have a change on the trend will be Domino's Pizza in Spain.

[Federico Rodriguez, executive]

Because of the culture -- the full service restaurant in Mexico and in Spain is completely different, and this is around culture. We cannot expect that the same teams working in Mexico for the full service linked to the World Cup works in Spain, and that's part of our job. Domino's Pizza will have a double impact.

[Christian Dubernard, executive]

For example, in Spain, we don't have the TV, the technology. It's not necessarily the place to go and watch the games.

[Alvaro Garcia, analyst]

Yes. And I guess just now that we're on this topic, and sorry for taking so much time. But in the context of, how are you thinking about throughput for Starbucks and Domino's specifically? So hiring more people to attend to the increase in demand you expect? How should we think about that into May and June?

[Federico Rodriguez, executive]

Absolutely. We are preparing, as I mentioned before, Chili's, Starbucks and Domino's to make sure we capture every single customer that we can capture. And this includes different initiatives in some restaurants and particularly in Chili's, we are adding additional seating, tables, investing on TVs, on audio to make sure the customer gets the most out of the game in Domino's Pizza with the crew and delivery particularly. And in Starbucks, likewise, with enough partners to satisfy the demand. And fortunately, we have a strong base of collaborators across the different brands and regions and our model is very flexible to be able to cover this demand Alvaro.

[Operator]

Our next question is from Mr. Thiago Bortoluci from Goldman Sachs.

[Thiago Bortoluci, analyst]

First of all, we all know it's been a challenging quarter. But in context of a weak demand in Mexico, I think your numbers were remarkable and just showcasing the consistency of the strategy. Congrats on the good evolution in terms of free cash flow generation in a quarter that we know seasonality isn't positive, but it's improving.

And my question is related to that, right? We all know part of the improvement in free cash flow generation has to do with accounting with better EBITDA, has to do with growth, lower CapEx, but the debt service burden is an important component of that moving part. And to this point, you already have a guidance of the $20 million improvement on your net financial expense this year. I'm just wondering how this ties up to the evolution of your gross leverage, right?

You're improving free cash flow generation. Your leverage is much more comfortable now. You are moderating the pace of openings, yet your gross leverage got up in the first quarter. And 2 weeks ago, you had a new issuance, right, in the local market. So how should we balance the better cost of debt of these new lines versus the old high yields that you have with probably -- and let me know, but a higher balance of gross debt going forward and how that might impact the trajectory of your debt service burden?

[Christian Dubernard, executive]

Okay. I will start by part. I will answer by part your question, Thiago, because it's really complex. The accounting is pretty much the same. We do not have any kind of impact by accounting because we would be lying and you will see that by the cash position at the end. So that is pretty much the same, both from beginning -- by the end of the 2024, we started to change the conditions with the different suppliers and creditors we work about it. And that is the answer that you are looking at the balance sheet by now.

Obviously, -- as you know, we have the cash of all the top line of all the revenues in debit by maybe 1 or 2 days, and we pay to the different suppliers in 45 or 60 days depending on the region we are moving. So that is part of the working capital generation that we have year-over-year, obviously, always taking into account that we have more openings that we are increasing the same-store sales talking our own traffic, ticket, and we will have to generate more working capital.

Talking regarding the gross leverage, we have that increase because of the certain peaks that we have in the curve. As you remember, during the first 5 months of the year, we used to burn cash because of the working capital needs that we generated during the last quarter year-over-year because of the seasonality of the business. But by the end of the year, you will see net debt better than the last year-end. As you know, we have just finished with the liability management, not only with the U.S. dollar bond and the eurobond, but last Friday, we refinanced the local bonds that we had in place. So by the end of the year, we expect to have a minor gross debt and a better net debt. So that is the answer.

[Operator]

That was the last question. I will now hand over to Mr. Christian Gurria for final comments.

[Christian Dubernard, executive]

First of all, I want to thank you all for your interest and your questions today. If you have any additional questions or require further information, our Investor Relations team is always available to assist you. We wish you an excellent day and look forward to having you join us for our next quarterly call update. Thank you very much, and have a great day. Thank you.

[Federico Rodriguez, executive]

Thank you.

[Gerardo Lapati, executive]

Thank you.

[Operator]

Alsea would like to thank you for participating in today's video conference. You may now disconnect.