(Source: Business World | Nov. 13, 2015)
Higher sales and margin improvements lifted the earnings of Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc. in the third quarter.
The Gokongwei-led multi-format retailer said in a disclosure that net profit attributable to equity holders jumped 13.4% to P1.11 billion in the July to September period.
This pushed nine-month net profit up 26.7% to P2.97 billion.
Core earnings — excluding interest income, equitized net earnings from the 40% stake in Robinsons Bank and unrealized forex gains/losses — grew nearly a tenth year-on-year to P2.22 billion in the first nine months of 2015.
At end-September, consolidated net sales were up by 12.7% at P63.29 billion, buoyed by the contribution of new stores, same-store sales growth of 3.8% and the nine-month sales contribution from newly acquired businesses A.M. Builders’ Depot and Chavez Pharmacy as well as the one-month sales contribution from Saver’s Appliance Depot.
Over the last 12 months, Robinsons Retail opened 208 stores to close the quarter with 1,466, a 10.7% year-on-year increase in gross floor area (GFA) to approximately 939,000 square meters (sqm).
The opening of 208 stores represents a slowdown from the 276 rolled out a year earlier after rationalizing some brands and closing non-performing stores, Robinsons Retail said.
The consolidated gross margin improved by 25 basis points to 21.8% at end-September on the back of the group’s growing scale, additional supplier discounts and the offering of additional value-added service.
The retail industry will remain competitive, with Robinsons Retail planning to take advantage of opportunities in the consolidation in the industry.
“We continue to be optimistic in the country’s retail environment as the growing economy would translate to more Filipinos having more disposable incomes and thus increasing discretionary spending,” President Robina Gokongwei-Pe was quoted in the disclosure as saying.
