MANILA, Philippines — Higher sales from new stores and sustained demand in the food retail and drugstores segments boosted earnings of Gokongwei-owned Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. in the first quarter.
Robinsons Retail reported core net earnings of P1.2 billion from January to March, up by 8.5 percent year-on-year.
Core net earnings exclude foreign exchange gains/losses, interest income from bonds, equity in earnings from associates, interest expense related to the acquisition financing of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) shares, BPI cash dividends, a one-time gain from the BPI-Robinsons Bank merger and others.
Net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company, meanwhile, soared to P5.1 billion during the three-month period from P537 million in the first quarter of 2023 due to a one-time gain resulting from the BPI-Robinsons Bank merger.
Robinsons Retail’s net sales grew by 2.9 percent to P45.9 billion from P44.6 billion last year.
The company said the improvement was driven by incremental sales from new stores and sustained demand in the food retail and drugstores segments which accounted for more than 80 percent of the business.
According to Robinsons Retail, blended same store sales growth continued to normalize at due to an unusually high base in the last two years.
“In addition, the timing of the Holy Week holidays affected revenues for the quarter as a number of the company’s non-essential stores or discretionary formats were closed for two days in March 2024,” it said.
Robinsons Retail operated a total of 2,399 stores consisting of 756 food segment stores, 1,072 drugstores, 50 department stores, 224 DIY stores and 297 specialty stores as of end March.
It also has over 2,100 franchised stores of TGP.
“We are optimistic that an acceleration in our topline is underway as we continue to open stores and see improved consumption trends aided by inflation reverting to the government’s target range,” Robinsons Retail president and CEO Robina Gokongwei-Pe said.
Gokongwei-Pe said the company, however, is also mindful of external headwinds to its business.
“Escalating tensions in the Middle East, which may drive commodity prices higher and emerging competition from new formats present additional challenges. Therefore, we will persist in implementing strategies to differentiate ourselves, which include offering the most relevant products and services to our target market and providing an exceptional shopping experience through ambient enhancements,” she said.
Gokongwei-Pe said cost controls also remain a priority, with savings generated to be reinvested back into the business to further drive growth.