Robinsons Retail nets P760M
Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. (RRHI) saw its earnings in the first quarter plunge by 85 percent to P760 million due to a one-time gain from the merger of its banking unit that had been recognized in the same period last year.
The Gokongwei-led company disclosed to the stock exchange on Tuesday its core income, which excludes the nonrecurring gains from the Robinsons Bank and Bank of the Philippine Islands deal, grew by 4.9 percent to P1.2 billion.
Meanwhile, its top line rose by 4.2 percent to P47.82 billion, buoyed by gains from the food, drugstore and department store segments. Additional selling days in March due to later Holy Week holidays likewise helped lift sales, according to RRHI.
Gross profit climbed 6.2 percent to P11.6 billion on the back of better category mix and improved inventory management, it said.
At the same time, operating income grew slower at 2.7 percent to P1.9 billion due to higher manpower expenses brought about by wage hikes. One-time costs related to RRHI’s employee benefits program also tempered growth.
“This year is off to a strong start, with the ongoing recovery in basket sizes continuing to drive revenue growth,” RRHI president and CEO Stanley Co said in a statement.
“To sustain this momentum, we will further optimize our assortment, accelerate store expansion and unlock greater operational efficiencies,” Co added.
As of end-March, RRHI had 2,448 stores across various formats. Broken down, it had 760 food stores, 1,131 drugstores, 50 department stores, 225 do-it-yourself stores and 282 specialty stores.
It also had 2,116 franchised stores of The Generics Pharmacy.
Last November, RRHI announced plans to expand both its hard discount and neighborhood supermarket store formats to combat rising competition in these sectors, banking on its wider product offering and scale to drive growth.
This year, RRHI is set to open up to 300 new O!Save stores to compete against larger players, such as Dali Everyday Grocery.
RRHI currently holds a minority interest in O!Save Trading Philippines Corp. through HD Retail, its subsidiary that operates in the category.
