Robinsons Retail earnings rise to P3.8 billion in 9 months

MANILA, Philippines — Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc,, the retail arm of the Gokongwei group, grew its net income 9.8 percent to P3.8 billion in the nine months to September.

This was primarily due to the 10.2 percent increase in operating income which reached P4.7 billion.

Sales rose 13.1 percent to P91.8 billion.

In the third quarter alone, net income was flat at P1.2 billion on sales of P31.3 billion.

Sales went up 13.2 percent, driven by robust same store sales growth (SSSG) across all formats and the sales contribution of new stores.

The company attributed this to the rise in take-home pay among salaried workers with the implementation of the  TRAIN Law at the beginning of the year.

Same store sales growth for the group was above target at 6.6 percent.

The supermarket segment, which contributed 46.5 percent to consolidated net sales and 43.5 percent to EBITDA, led with a strong SSSG of 8.6 percent.

SSSG was healthy across other segments during the same period -- specialty stores (7.8 percent growth), do it yourself (6.1 percent), convenience stores (4.5 percent), drugstores (2.9 percent) and department stores (2.4 percent).

Excluding franchised branches of The Generics Pharmacy, Robinsons Retail ended September with a total store count of 1,778, comprising of 158 supermarkets, 51 department stores, 206 DIY stores, 496 convenience stores, 499 drugstores and 368 specialty stores.

Total gross floor area increased by nine percent year-on-year to 1.2 million square meters.