MerryMart [MM 1.17 0.9%; 272% avgVol] [link] teased its FY22 net income of P321 million, which is up 846% y/y, on revenues of P6.7 billion, which were up 71% y/y. The revenue figure beat MM’s FY22 goal by 34%. MM’s next goal is to reach P12 billion in revenues (no timeline provided), with a long-term goal to reach P120 billion in revenues by 2030. MM is Injap Sia’s convenience store concept.
MB Quick Take: Convenience stores are coming back with a vengeance. And while it might be easy to laugh at Injap’s audacious goals, he has (so far) hit his targets and executed on the “convenience store as a distribution platform” theory that drives MM’s continued expansion deep into the provinces. MM says that it will have a logistics presence in all 82 provinces “soon”, with the goal to cover 99% of the Philippine consumer market. It’s easy to laugh at Injap’s audacious goals, but so far, he’s hitting all of the shots that he’s called. Despite all that, MM’s stock is down 84% from its two-year high, and it's getting closer and closer to its IPO price of P1.00/share.
Megawide [MWIDE 2.99 0.3%; 44% avgVol] [link] is hoping to settle by way of arbitration a P1.53 billion claim against it by ACI Inc. for violations of a contract for MWIDE to construct Gateway Mall 2 and Ibis Hotel. ACI Inc. is part of the Araneta Family’s group of companies. Previously, MWIDE had filed for arbitration to settle a P0.34 billion claim against ACI for a completely different construction contract related to Cyberpark Tower 2.
MB Quick Take: Arbitration is a legal process to resolve disputes without using the formal court system, where both parties plead their case to an “impartial” 3rd party arbitrator. Decisions are binding, and cases generally resolve in arbitration much more quickly than if they had been litigated through the court system. I don’t have any opinion on the merits of either party’s claims, only that the entire dispute feels kind of like a typical sibling fight where one flicks the other’s ear, and the other responds with a slap and a shoulder punch.
2GO Logistics [2GO 14.38] [link] shareholders voted to approve 2GO’s voluntary delisting at the Annual Stockholders' Meeting. Shareholders also voted to approve the merger between 2GO and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Special Container and Value Added Services, Inc., with 2GO as the surviving entity.
MB Quick Take: The merger is just for some bottom-line tax savings and corporate efficiency. The delisting will go ahead after SM investments [SM 16.90; 392% avgVol] bought substantially all of 2GO’s public float through a successful tender offer.
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