Robinsons Retail profit up 27% to P5.7 billion in 2022

MANILA, Philippines — Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. (RRHI), the listed retail arm of the Gokongwei Group, reported a net income of P5.7 billion last year.

This is 26.7 percent higher than the previous year and an increase of 42.1 percent from 2019.

Core earnings hit a record high of P5.3 billion, up 39.1 percent.

Positive contributions from all business segments and operating efficiencies contributed to growth, RRHI said in a regulatory filing yesterday.

RRHI president and CEO Robina Gokongwei-Pe said the company would continue to build on last year’s momentum.

“We are pleased with our operating performance in 2022. Building on the momentum last year, our company will continue to take advantage of the economy’s return to normal. We will focus on improving store efficiency and increasing market coverage with more stores in the pipeline for 2023,” Gokongwei-Pe said.

Consolidated net sales reached P178.8 billion last year, 16.6 percent better than the previous year and higher than pre-pandemic levels.

This was driven by same store sales growth (SSSG) of 11.8 percent as well as new store openings.

Gokongwei-Pe said that in 2022, businesses directly benefitted from the economy’s gradual return to normalcy.

These include the return of face-to-face classes in schools, increased travel and tourism, and the first normal holiday season in two years.

Furthermore, changes in category mix and economies of scale enabled RRHI to grow its gross profit faster than sales, rising by 19.8 percent for the full year to P42.2 billion.

Operating income also accelerated relative to the topline, increasing by 43.3 percent in 2022 to P8.7 billion due to better operating leverage and various cost savings.

Earnings per share (EPS) increased faster, rising by 30.6 percent to P3.85, supported by the company’s ongoing stock buyback program.

The surge in profitability is underpinned by positive contributions from all business segments coming from category mix improvements and operating efficiencies.

RRHI has nine wholly-owned subsidiaries and 18 affiliates, which include Robinson’s Supermarket Corp.; Robinson’s Handyman Inc.; Robinsons Appliances Corp.; and Robinsons Convenience Stores Inc.

As of end-2021, it had 2,208 stores, consisting of 286 supermarkets, 52 department stores, 227 DIY stores, 456 convenience stores, 899 drug stores and 288 specialty stores. This excludes 2,030 The Generics Pharmacy franchised stores.