The Board of Directors and Stockholders of Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V.
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2011 and 2010, and the related consolidated statements of income, changes in shareholders' equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2011. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.
The financial statements of Heineken N.V. (an entity in which the Company holds an equity interest of 12.53% and 9.24% as of December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively), as well as those of Heineken Holdings N.V. (collectively, Heineken), its majority shareholder (in which the Company holds an equity interest of 14.94% in both years), were prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union (IFRS) and were audited by other auditors. The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the Company's investment in Heineken of Ps. 66,478 million at December 31, 2010 and equity income of Ps. 3,319 million related to the Company's participation in Heineken's net income for the eight-month period from April 30, 2010 to December 31, 2010. Our opinion on the accompanying financial statements as of December 31, 2010 and for the eight-month period then ended, insofar as it relates to the reported amounts of the Company's investment in Heineken and the corresponding equity income, is based on the unqualified opinion issued by the other auditors on February 15, 2011. In conformity with the changes to the auditing standards generally accepted in Mexico, effective for periods beginning as of January 1, 2011, our opinion on the Company's consolidated financial statements at December 31, 2011 and for the year then ended, insofar as it relates to the reported amounts corresponding to Heineken, is based on the audit procedures that we believe were appropriate under the circumstances.
We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in Mexico. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement and are prepared in conformity with Mexican Financial Reporting Standards. Our audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used (including the conversion to Mexican Financial Reporting Standards of Heineken's financial statements at December 31, 2010 and for the eight-month period then ended, which were prepared by the Company to compute the amount of its investment in Heineken and its corresponding equity income) and the significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits and the report of the other auditors provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. and subsidiaries at December 31, 2011, and consolidated results of their operations, changes in their shareholders' equity and their cash flows for the year then ended, in conformity with Mexican Financial Reporting Standards.
Also, in our opinion, based on our audits and the report of other auditors mentioned in the second paragraph above, the accompanying consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. and subsidiaries at December 31, 2010, and consolidated results of their operations, changes in their shareholders' equity and their cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2010, in conformity with Mexican Financial Reporting Standards.
Mancera, S.C.
A Member Practice of Ernst & Young Global
C.P.C. Agustín Aguilar Laurents
Monterrey, N.L., Mexico
March 14, 2012