Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. on Thursday reported having a banner year in 2022 with net income of P917.27 million or a turnaround from prior year’s loss of P318.1 million.
Last year’s net income also surpassed its pre-pandemic earnings by 18 percent of only P775.6 million in 2019.
The company said it benefitted from robust consumer spending during the holiday season with record sales in the fourth quarter, with sales totaling P38.1 billion in 2022 or 22 percent higher than only P31.2 billion in 2021.
Metro Retail’s store traffic continued to recover, resulting to a 19.2 percent blended same-store sales growth that year.
“The year 2022 was indeed a breakthrough year for Metro Retail. Along with the company’s celebration of its 40th year in the industry, MRSGI was able to display its resilience – registering consistent encouraging performance across all quarters and ultimately closing the year with positive results,” company president and COO Manuel Alberto said.
“MRSGI marked this year as its leap from the net loss incurred during the pandemic to delivering a buoyant financial outcome. And we look forward to sustaining this growth in the coming years,” he said.
The company’s general merchandise business rose 54 percent from last year while food retail was up 13 percent.
The full reopening of businesses and improvement in labor market conditions primarily drove the growth in consumer confidence post pandemic, the company said.
The enterprise posted a 230 basis point improvement in its blended gross margin to 21.1 percent last year from only 18.8 percent in 2021.
It also reported an improvement in operating expense-to-sales ratio of 18.1 percent in 2022 versus 19.1 percent the previous year.
In 2022, Metro Retail added two new supermarkets and rounded the year with 62 stores.
The company broke ground and started the construction of its mega distribution center in Sta. Rosa, Laguna to support its current and future network. It also launched several new projects in strategic areas across Luzon and the Visayas.
