MANILA, Philippines — Puregold Price Club Inc., the Lucio Co-owned listed supermarket operator, saw its net income improve last year despite lower revenues, as the company continued to implement sustained strategic cost and expense management.
Puregold said that based on unaudited figures, its net income grew by 1.4 percent to P8.18 billion in 2021 from P8.07 billion in 2020.
“This was principally driven by the continuous management effort to improve gross margins, sustained strategic cost and expense management as well as the effect of the reduced corporate income tax with the implementation of the CREATE Law,” Puregold said.
Consolidated net sales of the firm decreased by 2.7 percent last year to P164.13 billion from P168.63 billion in 2020.
The company attributed the lower net sales to the decline in customer’s visits, particularly for the Puregold stores, with the government implementing health protocols and people cautious of contracting the COVID virus.
It said base sales were also higher than usual in 2020, particularly in the first quarter, with people buying in panic due to the looming lockdown brought about by the pandemic.
Last year, Puregold was recognized by the London-based Financial Times in its annual ranking of 500 High-Growth Companies in the Asia-Pacific region.
Puregold recorded an absolute growth rate of 37.2 percent.