Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. (MRSGI) generated P18 billion in net sales for the first half, representing a 6 percent growth from a year ago driven by improved sales of existing and new stores.

For the second quarter, the company posted P9.3 billion in net sales or a 7 percent increase from last year.

Same-store sales for the quarter ending June expanded by 4.7 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago and stronger than the 2.8 percent growth registered in the first quarter — bringing the blended same-store sales growth for the first half of 2024 to 3.8 percent.

By business, food retail sustained strong sales growth for the first six months at 7.9 percent on basic grocery items and additional sales from the supermarkets that were opened last year. General merchandise was flattish at 0.9 percent versus the prior year.

Blended gross margin in the first half of 2024 however, decreased to 20.7 percent from 21.9 percent in the same period last year, due to the higher share of food retail in total business, notably the lower margin wholesale category and the unwinding of excess inventory.

The decline in margin was slightly offset by the improvement in operating expense to sales ratio to 20.3 percent versus the prior year’s 21 percent, as the company continued to realize operating efficiency from cost management initiatives.