Metro Retail profit soars in H1

MANILA, Philippines - Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. (MRSGI), the listed supermarket and department store operator of the Gaisano family, reported a 53 percent jump in first half profit to P401 million.

Sales increased  3.3 percent to P16.4 billion.

MRSGI chairman and chief executive officer Frank Gaisano said the company is benefitting from an expanding market and the economy’s strong fundamentals.

“This shows that our expanding market coverage continues to improve our underlying consumer business, backed by our investments in operational and merchandising efficiencies that further resulted to stronger margins and earnings growth, Gaisano said.

“Strong domestic consumption and the growth of our economy will continue to be a boon to the retail sector,” he added.

Gaisano said MRSGI would continue to invest to grow the business.

“We will continue to leverage on the opportunities this presents and make targeted investments throughout the balance of this fiscal year in order to achieve a stronger brand presence for Metro that will benefit more consumers and our stakeholders, he said.

MRSGI has been on an expansion mode. It recently opened its 52nd store in Tagaytay. This came just after opening the Canduman, Mandaue City branch.

The company is further boosting its presence in the Visayas region with the recent groundbreaking of three new stores in primary commercial hubs in Central and Eastern Visayas.

MRSGI now operates in 52 stores in Central, Western and Eastern Visayas as well as in Central Luzon, Metro Manila and South Luzon, with three store formats comprising a department store, a supermarket and a hypermarket.

The company, which made its debut in the stock market in 2015, is pouring in P10 billion up to 2020 to double the size of its network to 800,000 square meters in terms of gross floor area.