Construction revival boosts Wilcon's 2022 profits

MANILA, Philippines — Wilcon Depot Inc. reported a double-digit profits growth last year, driven by resumption of private construction activities even in the face of a brutally-high inflation.

The listed home improvement and finishing construction supplies retailer netted P3.85 billion in 2022, up 50.2% year-on-year, according to a disclosure to the stock exchange Friday.

In the final quarter of last year, figures showed Wilcon’s bottom-line jumped 28.3% on-year to P888 million.

What gave Wilcon’s financials a boost was the resurgent demand for construction materials that defied headwinds brought by high inflation and the lingering pandemic, Lorraine Belo-Cincochan, company president and CEO, said.

“There was marked increase in private construction activities toward the end of the first quarter up to the end of the year despite strong inflationary pressures,” she said.

“Our results also reflected our resilience and adaptability in coping with the myriad challenges of operating in a pandemic-disrupted environment,” Belo-Cincochan added.

Broken down, Wilcon’s net sales grew 22% year-on-year to P6.06 billion. This brought Wilcon’s 2022 gross profit to P2.85 billion, up 27.7% on an annual basis.

Apart from higher demand for its products, the company said the 10 new stores it opened last year have started contributing to earnings.

But this expansion, in turn, bloated Wilcon’s operating expenses, which climbed 17.0% on-year to P8.42 billion in 2022. The company said it spent P2.64 billion on capital expenditures last year,

“We seized the country’s overall economic recovery with our timely investments in inventory, our people and in process improvements,” Belo-Cincochan said.

As of 11:23 a.m. Friday, shares in Wilcon were trading in the red and have shed 1.27%.