Wilcon Depot, Inc., a leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer in the Philippines, saw its net income reach P2.12 billion in the first nine months of 2024, up 22.3 percent year-on-year despite lower sales.
Wilcon said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Monday net sales dipped 1 percent to P25.68 billion on slower demand.
Wilcon president and chief executive Lorraine Belo-Cincochan said demand for major home improvement and finishing construction supplies remained weak through the third quarter.
Adverse weather conditions, including persistent rains, delayed construction projects, further impacting sales.
“We’re nearing completion of our 100-store target; we now have 98 stores and we expect to open our 100th branch before the end of the year. While expansion-related expenses have been the major drag on net income, we still believe that we have to be well-positioned to capture more market share as customer preference for planned purchases has been trending toward convenience and accessibility, especially since the pandemic,” Belo-Cincochan said.
Wilcon opened three new depots—one each in Visayas, Northern Luzon and Southern Luzon in the third quarter of 2024, bringing the total number of branches to 98.
It said that on a format basis, depot-format stores accounted for P24.65 billion, or 96 percent of total net sales, a 1.5-percent decrease from the previous year.
New depots contributed 4.3 percent to total sales, although same-store sales fell 5.8 percent.
The smaller Do-It-Wilcon format, which includes the original Home Essentials stores, achieved net sales of P738 million, a growth of 34.3 percent year-on-year, driven largely by new store openings.
Same-store sales for this format declined by 4.1 percent, mainly due to lower sales at older Home Essentials locations.
Operating expenses, including lease-related interest, rose to P7.64 billion, an increase of 8.7 percent year-on-year.
