Wilcon Depot Inc. said Friday net income grew 50.2 percent in 2022 to P3.85 billion from P1.287 billion in 2021, lifted by resumption of private construction activities following the easing of mobility restrictions.
Wilcon said in a stock exchange filing net sales went up 22 percent in 2022 to P33.57 billion from a year earlier. The robust sales helped offset the increase in operating expenses.
“Our net sales grew 22 percent year-on-year, mainly driven by the turnaround of our older stores with our comparable sales growth hitting 14.2 percent for 2022. There was marked increase in private construction activities toward the end of the first quarter up to the end of the year despite strong inflationary pressures,” said Wilcon president and chief executive Lorraine Belo-Cincochan.
Same-store-sales growth reached 14.2 percent, with Metro Manila branches contributing the most to the increase.
Operating expenses also increased 17 percent year-on-year on higher volume of business and continuing store network expansion. Top contributing accounts included depreciation and amortization, utilities, manpower and trucking.
Wilcon opened 10 stores in 2022, including nine depots and one small store under the Home Essentials brand. All these stores are located in Luzon. Wilcon was operating 83 branches across the country as of end-2022.
Net income in the fourth quarter surged 28.3 percent to P888 million from the same quarter in 2021, while fourth-quarter net sales increased 18.5 percent to P8.85 billion.
“Our results also reflected our resilience and adaptability in coping with the myriad challenges of operating in a pandemic-disrupted environment. We seized the country’s overall economic recovery with our timely investments in inventory, our people and in process improvements. This enabled us to continuously serve the requirements of our customers and provide them with our usual excellent customer experience,” said Belo-Cincochan.
Wilcon approved in February the distribution of cash dividends amounting to P1.517 billion—equivalent to P0.37 per share, consisting of P0.23 regular dividend and P0.14 special dividend.