Robinsons Retail profit rises 3.6%

Robinsons Retail profit rises 3.6% | Daily Tribune

Homegrown retailer Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc.’s (RRHI) grew its gross profit by 3.6 percent to P10.9 billion on consolidated net sales for the first quarter.

It posted favorable results with a growth of 2.9 percent to P45.9 billion as the number of stores increased consequently leading to higher sales.

In a report to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, the Gokongwei-led company attributed the increase to their incremental sales from new stores and sustained demand in the food retail and drugstore segments, taking up over 80 percent of their business.

Meanwhile, its blended same-store sales growth was reported to have kept normalizing at 0.9 percent, which they linked to an unusually high base in the last two years.

2-day break hurts

RRHI, moreover, said that Holy Week last March affected their revenues for the quarter since some of their non-essential stores or discretionary formats halted operations for two days.

It further noted that the company’s operating income posted a 3.4 percent increment to P1.9 billion.

Thus, RRHI core net earnings for the said quarter were registered at P1.2 billion, 8.5 percent higher than the previous year.

“Core net earnings exclude foreign exchange gains/losses, interest income from bonds, equity in earnings from associates, interest expense related to the acquisition financing of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) shares, BPI cash dividends, a one-time gain from the BPI-Robinsons Bank merger, and others,” RRHI said, noting that net income atoned for to equity holders of the parent company was P5.1 billion, which is 9.5 times higher year-on-year.

It added: “This is due to a one-time gain resulting from the BPI-Robinsons Bank merger which closed earlier this year. Earnings per share, which is based on NIAP, likewise increased substantially to Php3.49, 9.6 times higher versus the previous year.”

“We are optimistic that an acceleration in our topline is underway as we continue to open stores and see improved consumption trends aided by inflation reverting to the government’s target range. We are, however, also mindful of external headwinds to our business,” RRHI president and chief executive officer Robina Gokongwei-Pe said.

“Escalating tensions in the Middle East, which may drive commodity prices higher, and emerging competition from new formats present additional challenges. Therefore, we will persist in implementing strategies to differentiate ourselves, which include offering the most relevant products and services to our target market and providing an exceptional shopping experience through ambient enhancements,” she added, saying that cost controls remain the company’s priority.