Top retailers post strong profit results

MANILA, Philippines — Retailers Puregold Price Club Inc. of Lucio Co, Metro Retail Stores Group of the Gaisanao family  and Tantoco-owned SSI Group Inc. reported strong earnings results for the nine months ending September as higher consumer spending buoyed their respective sales.

Puregold said  consolidated core net income from January to September rose by 12.1 percent to P4.55 billion from P4.06 billion in the same period last year.

Consolidated net sales saw an increase of 10.3 percent year-on-year to P109.81 billion in the three quarters, 77 percent of which came from the Puregold stores network and 23 percent coming from S&R Membership warehouse clubs and S&R New York Style Pizza stores.

Puregold said its stores registered stronger-than-expected same store sales growth (SSSG) of 5.6 percent, while S&R recorded a SSSG of 8.4 percent during the nine-month period.

“Our SSSG in the first nine months of 2019 is driven by higher consumer spending fueled both by minimum wage inflation in 2018 and easing inflation in 2019,” the company said.

As of end-September, the group has a total of 423 stores nationwide composed of 369 Puregold stores, 17 S&R membership shopping warehouse, and 37 S&R New York Style QSR.

Cebu-based retailer Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. (MRSGI), meanwhile, saw its earnings in the nine-month period surge by 44.5 percent year-on-year to P658 million.

Net Sales grew by 10.9 percent with the opening of new stores and the re-opening of Metro Supermarket in its Cebu flagship store, in addition to growth in same store sales of 2.5 percent.

MRSGI said its increasing network in Visayas as well as continued improvements in inventory and margin productivity, price competitiveness and merchandise assortment, coupled with favorable external economic factors such as low inflation and high consumer spending have contributed to the positive performance for the three quarters.

“We are pleased that our network and retail sales performance remain strong despite various market challenges. We have moved into the year with confidence and we are looking to close 2019 positive and strong as ever,” MRSGI chairman and CEO Frank Gaisano said.

MRSGI currently has a network of 56 stores covering key cities in Central, Western and Eastern Visayas as well as Central and South Luzon. It operates in three store formats nemely, supermarket, hypermarket, and department store.

The SSI Group, the country’s largest specialty store retailer, for its part generated a net income of P521 million in the three quarters, 42 percent higher year-on-year on the back of healthy top line growth combined with operating margin expansion.

Sales jumped by 7.7 percent year-on-year to P14.9 billion, driven by healthy consumer demand and same store sales growth of 6.8 percent.

SSI said revenue growth was achieved despite a decline in the group’s
total floor area as the group continued with its strategy to strengthen its store network and focus store openings on developed brands in developed locations.

“During the third quarter, and through the first nine months of the year, the group has benefited from a focus on strong execution, cost rationalization and the generation of operating efficiencies. This focus has reinforced the group’s ability to capture growing consumer spending within a highly competitive and evolving industry,” SSI president Anthony Huang said.

The SSI Group has a portfolio of 92 brands, which includes many of the
world’s most recognizable brands, and a store network that is located in prime retail locations nationwide.