New stores push Puregold profit up 67.2%

MANILA, Philippines - Grocery chain operator Puregold Price Club Inc. jacked up its nine-month net income 67.2 percent to P1.8 billion, mainly driven by higher sales on new store openings.

In a financial report submitted to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Puregold said net sales expanded 45.2 percent to P39.14 billion, largely due to increased turnover.

The Lucio Co-led retailer opened a total of 20 stores in the first nine months, bringing its total network to 120, comprising 71 hypermarkets, 36 supermarkets and 13 discounters.

In June, Puregold acquired six S&R warehouses and 19 Parco supermarkets, contributing 35.3 percent of the total increase in the group’s net sales.

The new subsidiaries contributed 44.8 percent of the increase to the group’s other operating income.

Puregold, the country’s second largest supermarket operator, is seeking to double its store network by 2015 as it expands into the Visayas and Mindanao.  For next year, the company has alloted P5 billion for the development of 25 new outlets as well as for mergers and acquisitions.

Funding will come from proceeds of a recently-concluded fixed-rate corporate notes issue, amounting to P5 billion.

Puregold continues to be on the lookout for new acquisitions as it aims to further widen its presence in the country and attract a larger clientele.

Puregold caters to the lower-income segment with a market share of 16 percent while S&R, which caters to the middle and upper class consumers,  has a market share of 3.3 percent.