Puregold earnings slip 6.6% to P1.656B

MANILA, Philippines - The absence of non-recurring gains from short-term investments dragged the earnings of the country’s second largest grocery chain in the first half.

Consolidated net income of Puregold Price Club Inc. slipped 6.6 percent to P1.656 billion in the first semester from P1.77 billion a year ago.

“The slump was due to the absence of the interest income recognized in previous year of the same period, coming from the short-term investment of the proceeds from the P5 billion corporate notes issued by Puregold,” the company said.

Consolidated net sales improved 16.8 percent to P38.54 billion from P33.01 billion “due to the continuing expansion in sales turnover of the 228 Puregold and S&R stores operating as of end-June,” it added.

Puregold recorded a gross profit margin of 16.5 percent in the first half, down from 17.5 percent year-on-year due to the lower sales volume generated from non-food items, which became expensive to the mass market due to the effect of the sin tax law.

As of end-June, Puregold opened 15 new stores out of the targeted 25 new branches for this year.

“For the full year, Puregold is maintaining its guidance of targeting a 20 percent growth in consolidated net sales,” the grocery chain said.

The listed retailer allotted P3 billion for the development of 25 new Puregold stores this year to add to its existing store portfolio of 213 (including S&R). It also intends to pursue more acquisitions to further expand its geographic footprint, which already included 52 cities and 50 municipalities.