AllHome [HOME 1.00, up 2.0%; 69% avgVol] [link] posted a FY23 net income of P797 million, down 15% from its FY22 net income of P933 million. Revenues were down 4% to P12.1 billion, which HOME attributed to consumers having “diverted [spending] from home retail to less essential expenses like fashion, health and beauty, entertainment, and travel.” HOME reported having 72 stores at the end of 2023, which it called a 20% increase over the 63 stores it had in 2022 (HOME excludes the three stores in Alabang that were damaged by the fire); that 20% increase in stores only translated to a 0.5% increase in “net selling area” from 295,303 square meters to 296,933 square meters, and a net sales decrease of 4% from P12.6 billion to P12.1 billion. Same-store sales (excluding the damaged Alabang stores) fell 4.7%.
MB bottom-line: Credit where credit is due; HOME consistently delivers well-crafted excuses. When HOME’s FY22 profit tanked 35% to P933 million, the Villar Family blamed the Q1 COVID surge and rainy weather that reduced foot traffic to its stores. Now, when HOME’s FY23 profit tanks again, the family is blaming the consumer’s interest in “less essential expenses” for its bad performance. HOME is down 91% from its 2019 IPO, down 77% from its COVID-crash low, and down 29% year-to-date. All while low- and middle-income home ownership has expanded rapidly. I’m super curious to know what kind of economic situation the Vilalr Family would need for HOME to succeed. When consumers are locked in their homes and prevented from traveling or having fun, they blame the lockdowns for slow sales, and when the people are able to leave their homes they blame the consumers for spending on fun things like travel and entertainment. What if consumers just don’t really want to buy HOME stuff?
---
Merkado Barkada is a free daily newsletter on the PSE, investing and business in the Philippines. You can subscribe to the newsletter or follow on Twitter to receive the full daily updates.