Puregold logs 2.1% jump in nine-month income

LISTED retailer Puregold Price Club, Inc. posted a 2.1% year-on-year increase in consolidated net for the nine months to September amid higher revenue and store traffic.

In a stock exchange disclosure on Tuesday, Puregold said its consolidated net income from January to September reached P6.61 billion, an improvement from P6.47 billion a year ago.

Puregold’s revenue increased 9.2% to P139.3 billion compared to P127.6 billion last year, citing higher store traffic.

It said the enterprise posted “positive” same-store sales growth of 4.8% from Puregold Stores and 4.1% from S&R Warehouse clubs, “driven primarily from higher traffic.”

The company added that same-store sales growth trends “continued to normalize starting in the second quarter as a contrast to the more flattering base effects felt in the first quarter of this year.”

However, the retailer said that its topline growth for the three quarters of the year was partially offset by compressed margins and higher operating expenses.

The company’s nine-month operating expenses rose 11.8% to P17.81 billion from P15.92 billion last year, while its net margin dropped to 4.7% compared with 5.1% a year ago.

Meanwhile, Puregold said it continues to see a “buoyant trajectory” in its topline growth for the remaining months of the year.

As of end-September, the listed retailer said it had opened 30 new Puregold stores, two S&R Membership shopping warehouses, and two S&R New York Style quick-service restaurants.

Currently, the company has 558 stores across the country consisting of 481 Puregold stores, 53 S&R New York Style quick-service restaurants, and 24 S&R Membership Shopping Warehouses.

On Tuesday, shares of Puregold at the local bourse fell 55 centavos or 1.9% to close at P28.40 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave