FEMSA Reports 1Q11 Income From Operations Growth of 9.4%

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• Latin America - español

MONTERREY, Mexico, April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Fomento Economico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. ("FEMSA") (NYSE: FMX) announced today its operational and financial results for the first quarter of 2011.

First Quarter 2011 Highlights:

• FEMSA comparable consolidated total revenues and income from operations grew 12.5% and 9.4%, respectively, compared to the first quarter of 2010, reflecting solid results at Coca-Cola FEMSA and FEMSA Comercio.
• Coca-Cola FEMSA total revenues and income from operations increased 9.5% and 10.4%, respectively.  Double-digit income from operations growth in the Mexico and Mercosur divisions drove these results.
• FEMSA Comercio achieved total revenues growth of 19.5% aided by the opening of over 1,100 net new stores in the last twelve months, as well as robust same-store sales during the quarter.  Income from operations increased 25.5%.

Jose Antonio Fernandez Carbajal, Chairman and CEO of FEMSA, commented: "We are off to a good start in 2011.  FEMSA Comercio delivered another strong quarter, showing good progress in terms of new store openings, revenue growth and profitability.  And Coca-Cola FEMSA also had a promising start to the year, with Mexico showing very strong trends and Mercosur continuing with good momentum.  We also continue to benefit from the strong profitability being achieved at Heineken.  And so, we are optimistic that this year will continue to be an exciting and rewarding one for FEMSA."

To obtain the full text of this earnings release, please visit our Investor Relations website at www.femsa.com/investor under the Financial Reports section

This report may contain certain forward-looking statements concerning our future performance that should be considered as good faith estimates made by us. These forward-looking statements reflect management's expectations and are based upon currently available data. Actual results are subject to future events and uncertainties, which could materially impact our actual performance.

FEMSA is a leading company that participates in the non-alcoholic beverage industry through Coca-Cola FEMSA, the largest independent bottler of Coca-Cola products in the world in terms of sales volume; in the retail industry through FEMSA Comercio, operating the largest and fastest-growing chain of convenience stores in Latin America, and in the beer industry, through its ownership of the second largest equity stake in Heineken, one of the world's leading brewers with operations in over 70 countries.

Contact: Media, [email protected], IR Contact: [email protected], (52) 81-8328-6167

SOURCE Fomento Economico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V.