Metro Retail posts P219 million profit in H1

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. (MRSGI) managed to sustain its strong performance this year despite supply chain disruptions.

The company reported a net income of P218.9 million in the first half of the year, a significant reversal from the net loss of P181.9 million a year ago.

“The positive results in the first half of this year set Metro Retail Stores on a strong trajectory as the company celebrates 40 years in retail operations this year,” said MRSGI president and COO Manuel Alberto.

At the same time, he said the company remains cautious of the current domestic and global risks, but would continue to be hopeful for a better outlook in the coming months as opportunities for recovery and growth present themselves.

The company posted P8.9 billion net sales in the second quarter, higher by 29 percent than the P6.9 billion net sales in the same period last year, bringing MRSGI’s net sales to P17.4 billion in the first half of 2022 or up by 26.1 percent from the same period last year and five percent higher compared to the pre-pandemic sales level in 2019.

The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the first half expanded by a high 81.7 percent to P1 billion compared to the prior year’s P550.5 million. Moreover, MRSGI remained in a strong cash and liquidity position at P3.9 billion.

MRSGI said the first half results are encouraging, especially amid elevated commodity prices induced by the ongoing threats of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and COVID-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, it noted that growth was mainly attributable to the recovery of comparable store sales by 24.7 percent and the contribution of newly opened stores.

With increasing store traffic and improving consumer spending buoyed by further reopening of the economy, its food retail and general merchandise businesses grew by 21.3 percent and 44 percent, respectively.

MRSGI continued to benefit from its cost-saving measures and optimization initiatives as operating expense-to-sales ratio improved to 18.2 percent for the first half versus 21 percent from the same six-month period last year.

The company said it would continue to strengthen its store network after opening two new stores – Metro Paseo Supermarket in Cebu City and Metro Hilongos Supermarket in Leyte.

The company decided to close a non-performing store last April – bringing its current store network to 62.