(Yicai) July 18 -- Beijing Oriental Yuhong is acquiring 100 percent equity in Chilean building materials retailer Construmart for USD123 million as the Chinese waterproofing materials supplier looks to speed up its entry into the South American market after experiencing a slump in performance in recent years.

Oriental Yuhong’s share price [SHE:002271] closed down 0.6 percent today at CNY11.20 (USD1.56), after earlier edging up 1 percent. The stock has lost 70 percent of its value since May 2021 due to the firm’s sliding earnings.

Construmart operates approximately 31 building materials supermarkets across Chile and is a leading player in the country’s building materials retail industry, Oriental Yuhong said yesterday. In 2024, Construmart raked in net profit of CLP4.8 billion (USD50 million) on revenue of CLP282.27 billion (USD290 million).

As of May 31, Construmart had total assets of CLP152.6 billion (USD158.3 million) with liabilities of CLP82.43 billion (USD85.5 million), and net assets of CLP70.2 billion, the Beijing-based firm said.

This acquisition will allow Oriental Yuhong to leverage Construmart’s established market channels and sales capabilities in Chile to expand its footprint not just in Chile but also across Latin America.

The deal comes at a time when Oriental Yuhong’s core business is struggling due to a prolonged downturn in China’s property market. In the first quarter, Oriental Yuhong’s net profit plunged 44.7 percent from a year earlier and revenue tumbled 16.7 percent, according to its latest financial report. And last year, its net profit plummeted 92.5 percent year on year while revenue slumped 14.5 percent. The firm still held CNY6.9 billion (USD961 million) in cash as of March 31, according to the report.

Editor: Kim Taylor