Ultrapar Rallies to Record After Earnings Beat Estimates

(Updates with closing prices in second paragraph.)

Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s Ultrapar Participacoes SA, the fuel distributor that has expanded food sales at its service stations, soared to a record after reporting fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates.

Shares jumped 4.5 percent to 52.69 reais at the close of trading in Sao Paulo, the biggest rally since Sept. 3. Trading volume was 2.9 times the three-month average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Adjusted net income was 298.8 million reais ($151.5 million) in the fourth quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg after the company reported earnings yesterday. That compares with analysts’ average estimate of 261.3 million reais.

“The company continues to report solid results, which will sustain the stock’s performance,” Itau BBA analysts Paula Kovarsky and Diego Mendes wrote in a research note.

Ultrapar has advanced 40 percent in the past year while the benchmark Bovespa index has fallen 15 percent.

--With assistance from Denyse Godoy in Sao Paulo. Editors: Dennis Fitzgerald, David Papadopoulos