Visayan retail giant Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. said Wednesday net income in 2015 rose 21 percent to P758.6 million from a year ago on the back of higher store sales and aggressive store expansion.
Metro Retail said in a disclosure to the stock exchange net sales climbed 14 percent to P32.3 billion in 2015, while same store sales increased 9 percent, driven by the strong performance of hypermarket, department store and supermarket formats.
Metro Retail operates 46 stores as of end 2015, composed of 24 supermarkets, 12 hypermarkets, and 10 department stores with a gross floor area of 400,000 square meters.
“2015 has certainly been a banner for MSRGI as our strong financial performance clearly shows. I believe that 2016 will be another record year for MSRGI being well on track with our store expansion and logistics efficiency initiatives to support our goal of doubling our footprint in the next five years,” MSRGI chairman and chief executive Frank Gaisano said.
Early this month, Metro Retail expanded its network with the acquisition of the department store assets of SIAL Specialty Retailers Inc., a joint venture between Ayala land Inc and Store Specialists Inc.
Located at Fairview Terraces Mall and UP Town Center, the stores have a combined gross floor area of approximately 25,000 square metres and will increase Metro Retail’s department store network to 12
The retailer in 2015 signed a partnership with Ayala Land to put up stores in four new Ayala commercial developments—a department store and supermarket in Capital Central in Bacolod City, a supermarket in The Shops at Atria in Mandurriao Iloilo City, another in Central Bloc in Cebu City and a department store and supermarket in Ayala Malls Feliz in Pasig City.
The company inaugurated the Super Metro hypermarket in Calbayog City in February, the company’s 27th store in Visayas.
Metro Retail said it would continue with its enhancement plans, from expanding its offering to deliver relevant products and services to customers to investing in its people and organization to create a stronger, more capable MSRGI from within.
“These strategic initiatives will enable MSRGI not only to achieve our financial goals, accelerate growth and increase operational efficiency,” GAisano said, “but more importantly elevate the quality of service we provide to our local customers.
Share price of Metro Retail on Wednesday gained 3.38 percent to P3.98.