Puregold hits record earnings, declares dividends
Strong sales across its businesses lifted the 2024 earnings of grocery retail chain Puregold Price Club Inc. by 21.3 percent to a record P10.4 billion.
In a stock exchange filing on Thursday, the Lucio Co-led company said its top line had jumped by 10.1 percent to P219.17 billion.
This was supported by a 4.5-percent and 6.4-percent uptick in sales at Puregold stores and S&R Warehouse clubs, respectively.
“This success is a direct result of the sustainable growth and proven profitability of our core business,” Puregold president Ferdinand Vincent Co said in a disclosure.
“As we look to 2025, we are implementing an aggressive store expansion strategy, prioritizing key provincial markets,” he added.
Last year, the company opened 38 new stores across different brands: 26 Puregold stores, four S&R Membership Shopping warehouses and eight S&R New York Style quick service restaurants.
This expanded Puregold’s overall network to 602 stores nationwide.
As a result of the company’s earnings, Puregold, which is under holding firm Cosco Capital Inc., approved a 30-percent regular dividend payout, or equivalent to P1.09 per share, for a total of P3.13 billion. This will be distributed to shareholders of record as of April 30.
Its board of directors also gave the green light to a 20-percent special dividend payout, amounting to P0.72 per share, totaling P2.08 billion. Shareholders of record as of Sept. 2 will receive this dividend payment.
According to Puregold, the P5.21-billion total payout will be sourced from its retained earnings as of Dec. 31, 2024.
Apart from supermarkets, the Co family also has interests in liquor through The Keepers Holdings Inc.
Lucio Co, who was listed among Forbes Magazine’s billionaires for the second consecutive year earlier this month, also recently ventured into renewable energy after taking over two hydroelectric power plants.
Cosco completed in September 2024 its acquisition of the 8.66-megawatt (MW) Matuno River hydro power plant for P1.02 billion. In March last year, Cosco bought 60 percent of Catuiran Hydropower Corp., the operator of an 8-MW facility in Oriental Mindoro province, for P551.88 million.
