Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. (RRHI) of the Gokongwei Group said Friday its net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company grew 9.5 times in the first quarter of 2024 to P5.1 billion from P537 million in the same period last year.
It said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the one-time gain resulting from the BPI-Robinsons Bank merger which closed earlier this year boosted the first-quarter profit.
Minus one-off items, RRHI’s first quarter net income reached P1.2 billion, still up by 8.5 percent from P1.09 billion in 2023.
Consolidated net sales grew 2.9 percent to P45.9 billion in the first quarter of 2024, led by higher sales from new stores and sustained demand in the food retail and drugstores segments, which accounted for more than 80 percent of the business.
“We are optimistic that an acceleration in our topline is underway as we continue to open stores and see improved consumption trends aided by inflation reverting to the government’s target range,” said RRHI president and chief executive Robina Gokongwei-Pe.
Gokongwei-Pe said, however, the company is also mindful of external headwinds to the business. Escalating tensions in the Middle East, which may drive commodity prices higher and emerging competition from new formats, present additional challenges, she said.
“Therefore, we will persist in implementing strategies to differentiate ourselves, which include offering the most relevant products and services to our target market and providing an exceptional shopping experience through ambient enhancements. Cost controls also remain a priority and the savings we generate will be reinvested back into the business to further drive growth,” she said.
Blended same-store sales growth (SSSG) continued to normalize at 0.9 percent due to an unusually high base in the last two years.
The timing of the Holy Week holidays also affected revenues in the quarter as a number of the company’s non-essential stores or discretionary formats were closed for two days in March 2024.
RRHI ended the first quarter with 2,399 stores, consisting of 756 food segment stores, 1,072 drugstores, 50 department stores, 224 DIY stores and 297 specialty stores.
It also has over 2,100 franchised stores of pharmacy-chain TGP.