Metro Retail bullish on H2 outlook

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Retail Stores Group Inc., the listed retail company of the Gaisano Group, is upbeat on the remainder of the year despite posting a slowdown in profitability in the first half.

Increases in non-cash charges and depreciation due to the company’s expansion program pulled down Metro Retail’s net income in the first half by 27 percent to P100.4 million from P136.8 million in the same period last year.

However, improved sales of existing stores and incremental sales from newly opened stores boosted the company’s net sales by six percent to P18 billion during the six-month period.

“With the improved momentum from the second quarter and going into the second half of 2024, the company continues to hold an optimistic outlook for the rest of the year on the back of improvement in sales growth, cost management and the projected opening of new stores planned in the third and fourth quarters,” Metro Retail president and COO Manuel Alberto said.

Metro Retail saw same-store sales for the second quarter improve by 4.7 percent compared to the same period last year, bringing the blended same-store sales growth for the first semester to 3.8 percent.

The company’s food retail business sustained strong sales growth of  7.9 percent on essential grocery items and additional sales from the supermarkets opened last year.

Metro Retail operates 64 branches across Luzon and the Visayas under the store formats Metro Supermarket, Metro Department Store, Super Metro Hypermarket and Metro Value Mart.

By 2027, the company has set a goal of having a network of 160 stores.

Aside from its stores, Metro Retail also provides online shopping services through shopmetro.ph, allowing customers to choose between home delivery or pick-up at the nearest Metro Store.

Metro Retail also ventured recently into the home improvement store format to further solidify its presence in the country’s retail landscape.

In line with the company’s aggressive expansion strategy, Metro Retail opened its first Metro Home Improvement store at Marquee Mall in Angeles, Pampanga.