The is under new management. Agapito Sobrinho replaces Antonio Wrobleski as CEO of the logistics operatorone of the largest in Brazil. He assumes the chair with an approximation mandate. BBM’s current strategy consists of strengthening ties with customers, making decisions more quickly and optimizing costs. Agapito’s experience as commercial director in the almost eight years he has been with the company was decisive in his rise to the presidency. The board wanted someone close to the operation in the role.
Few know the profile of BBM’s client portfolio as well as the executive. “Clients who account for 80% of our revenue already have direct contact with me”, revealed the new CEO, in an interview with InfoMoney – the first granted to the press since he was promoted. Today, BBM serves a base of almost 3,500 companies, in practically all sectors of the economy. Agapito talks about “surgical”, targeted growth.
“We will focus on the segments that have the most competitive advantage, that are most profitable. We are not going to look at a more aggressive expansion now, because the priority is to improve our operational efficiency”, he says.
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The high costs of the transport sector continue to put pressure on the company’s margins, as they remain very close to the amounts billed quarter after quarter. Passing them on to customers remains a challenge.
Quality growth
In 2023, BBM’s net revenue was R$1.664 billion, practically the same figure as in 2022. There is no expectation of revenue growth now in 2024, explains Agapito – and the executive also avoids making expansion promises for next year. “If we need to give up growing in segments that are not so profitable, we will do so”, he explains.
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The company reveals a greater appetite for at least three segments: chemicals, electronics and cosmetics. BBM Logística already has some presence in each of them, but understands that there is still plenty of room for growth.
BBM also underwent changes to its board of directors. THE board has decreased in size and now has three members. Antonio Wrobleski regained one of the seats after leaving the presidency, joining Marcos Batistella, founder of the company, and Alberto Camões, chairman and partner at Stratus, a private equity who owns a third of the company.
“With three advisors, it’s easier to stay closer to the company’s operations,” says Camões. According to him, a general downsizing of the company tends to make BBM more agile. The structure that helped the company grow in recent years began to limit the dynamics of the business, explain the executives.
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On the financial side, BBM is in a comprehensive negotiation with creditors, to gain grace time and deal with lower interest rates, says Camões. The company’s net debt ended the first quarter of 2024 (last available balance) at R$437 million.
Just in time for Black Friday
Agapito Sobrinho assumed the presidency of BBM in a period that significantly changes the company’s momentum. This caused sales in the company’s e-commerce vertical to grow 27.3% in the fourth quarter of last year compared to the same period in 2022. It also positively impacted the breakbulk segment, whose revenue increased 12.1% to R$162.9 million.
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For this year’s event, the company, as usual, invested in increasing storage areas, hiring additional labor and technological infrastructure. The challenge, however, is to make the increase in Black Friday volumes become an opportunity to consolidate positions with customers – and make a specific date reverberate in the entire year’s performance.
“This is the time to gain credibility with customers and expand with them,” says Agapito. Amazon, Casas Bahia and Centauro are some of the companies that will use BBM services in Black this year. In addition to retailers, the logistics operator also wants to strengthen the bridge between the industry and the end consumer. And look at e-commerce specific to manufacturers, which proposes to operate in B2C.
