Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc., the retail arm of the Gokongwei group, reported attributable income falling 41 percent to P2.58 billion over nine months this year from last year ’s P4.4 billion.
The company traced the reduction to losses from minority start up investments that continue to ramp up, the de-recognition of Robinsons Bank’s net income under equitized earnings as this merges with the Bank of the Philippine Islands, interest expense from the acquisition financing of BPI shares purchased earlier this year, and the absence of BPI cash dividends in the third quarter.
Core earnings, which exclude BPI dividends and foreign exchange losses, totaled P3.78 billion, a slim 4 percent increase from last year’s P3.63 billion.
“Our defensible business model has enabled us to continue growing and remain relevant among Filipino consumers. This is notwithstanding near-term macroeconomic challenges, particularly the impact of inflation on consumer sentiment,” Robina Gokongwei-Pe, president and CEO, said.
“These headwinds are temporary, in our view, and we thus remain positive on the long-term potential of the domestic retail industry given the Philippines’ attractive demographics. We will continue to invest with a long-term view and in a sustainable manner – core strategies that we firmly believe will translate to greater stakeholder value,” she said.
Net sales for the period rose 8 percent to P138.2 billion from P127.09 billion last year.
This was supported by blended same store sales growth of 5 percent and store expansion initiatives. The core staples businesses, supermarkets and drugstores in particular, were the main revenue growth drivers for the period.
These two segments accounted for almost 75 percent of Robinsons Retail’s revenues for the period.
“Meanwhile, a bright spot in the discretionary portfolio was the department store segment, which was able to deliver double-digit top line growth in the nine month period due to back-to-school and continued out-of-home activities,” it reported.
As at end-September, Robinsons Retail stores total 2,368 comprised of 341 supermarkets, 1,033 drugstores, 50 department stores, 230 DIY stores, 416 convenience stores and 298 specialty stores. It also has over 2,000 franchised stores of The Generics Pharmacy.
