Retailers report income, sales growth

LISTED retailers reported income growth in the third quarter, while some trimmed losses, on the back of better sales performance.

SSI GROUP
Tantoco-led SSI Group, Inc. trimmed its net loss in the third quarter by 5% to P270.97 million from the P285.24 million incurred in the same period last year “on the back of strong sales growth during the quarter,” SSI said in a statement on Monday.

According to a regulatory filing, the SSI Group’s topline for the quarter rose 28% to P2.93 billion from P2.29 billion.

“In the face of the challenges presented by COVID during the third quarter, the group continued to implement the strategies we have put in place to drive sales, within low foot traffic environments, to grow cash flows, and to optimize costs and expenses,” SSI Group President Anthony T. Huang said in the statement.

“These strategies enabled strong sales growth and cash flow generation, however, within a low gross profit margin environment,” he added.

Year to date, the company also trimmed its net loss by 42% to P444.62 million from last year’s P761.54 million. The company posted a 28% topline growth to P9.37 billion from P7.32 billion.

The company said sales from its e-commerce sites surged by 142% in the nine-month period.

However, after the government downgraded Metro Manila’s quarantine restrictions on Nov. 6, the company noted a “significant growth in sales” as customers now go to the malls.

“With COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) cases hopefully controlled through Christmas, we expect that the sales momentum that started at the beginning of October will continue until the end of the year,” Mr. Huang said.

MRSGI
Cebu-based retailer Metro Retail Stores Group, Inc. (MRSGI) also narrowed its net loss to P124.47 million in the third quarter, a 63% improvement from the P337.21-million loss incurred in the same period last year.

The company’s revenues for the third quarter improved by 7.7% to P7.56 billion from P7.02 billion.

For the nine-month period, MRSGI trimmed its net loss by 27% to P306.41 million from last year’s P421.87 million. However, sales inched down to P21.44 billion from P22.33 billion.

“MRSGI remains upbeat for better results moving forward, especially in this holiday season. With the country pivoting toward economic recovery largely due to relaxed restrictions and ongoing vaccination rollout, economic activities and consumer sentiment have been improving,” the company said.

“The company, however, will continue to practice fiscal prudence as it invests resources in its omnichannel strategy,” it added.

COSCO CAPITAL
Lucio L. Co’s retail holding firm Cosco Capital, Inc. booked an attributable net income worth P1.38 billion in the third quarter, growing by 2% from P1.35 billion in the same period last year.

Its regulatory filing on Monday showed the company’s topline for the quarter also inched up to P41.43 billion from P41.27 billion.

For the nine months to September, Cosco Capital’s attributable net income rose 13% to P4.34 billion from P3.83 billion a year ago.

In a separate statement, Cosco Capital said it posted a 17% growth in consolidated net income, logging P7.27 billion from last year’s P6.23 billion despite lower consolidated revenues.

The consolidated revenues of its business segments continue to reel from the quarantine restrictions imposed due to the pandemic. Its topline declined by 4% to P122.06 billion from last year’s P126.97 billion.

Its grocery retailing business, Puregold Price Club, Inc. and S&R Membership Shopping Club, accounted for 63% of the company’s total core net income. Its net income grew 13.6% to P5.73 billion, while consolidated revenues went down by 4.9% to P115.2 billion.

Meanwhile, its liquor distribution business contributed 23%. The segment’s net income surged by 57.4% to P1.1 billion, while its revenues improved by 32.1% to P6.6 billion.

Its commercial real estate segment accounted for 13% of the company’s profits. Its net income amounted to P581 million, while revenues inched down by 1.7% to P1.24 billion.

Office Warehouse, Inc., its specialty retailing segment, made up for 1% of its net profit. It scored a net income growth of 18.5% to P46 million, while revenues declined by 5.8% to P1.18 billion. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte