Reuters
LISBON (Reuters) -Sonae, owner of Portugal's largest food retailer, on Thursday reported a 21% jump in fourth-quarter net profit as one-off capital gains more than offset the impact of high inflation and energy costs on its supermarkets business. The conglomerate, with businesses in sectors from retail to telecoms, made net profit of 132 million euros ($140 million) in the three months to Dec. 31 after booking 142 million euros in one-off capital gains, mainly from asset sales. The squeeze on margins from soaring inflation and energy costs meant net income at Sonae MC, which runs about 300 hypermarkets and supermarkets, fell 16% to 56 million euros, despite a 14% increase in sales to 1.68 billion euros.