(By: Krista Angela M. Montealegre, InterAksyon.com December 5, 2014)
Tantoco-owned SSI Group Inc saw its earnings climb by half in the first nine months of the year anchored on the expansion of its store network and brand portfolio, as well as improving margins.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, SSI said its net income jumped 49 percent year-on-year to P674 million in the January to September period.
The higher profit of the country’s largest luxury retailer was supported by a 16 percent year-on-year jump in revenues to P10 billion in the nine-month period.
Over the 12-month period ending September, SSI added 87 new stores, or an additional 23,000 square meters to its store network, increasing the company’s retail footprint by 24 percent year-on-year.
Gross profit margins improved to 56 percent from 50 percent a year ago as the group continued to benefit from strong sell-through rates.
“SSI is entering the fourth quarter on strong footing as we continue to reap the benefits of our store expansion program and of initiatives implemented to enhance profitability. We are optimistic that we will meet this year’s targets and we have seen a strong start to the Christmas shopping season,” said SSI president Anton Huang.
Funded by the proceeds of a P7.45-billion initial public offering, the company is rolling out more stores, taking advantage of favorable market conditions, evolving consumption patterns and consumer tastes, as well as the availability of prime retail space in new and existing mall developments.
At end-September, SSI operated 672 specialty stores covering 118,000 square meters as well as 66 Family Mart stores.
