RRHI profit drops but sales, core income higher

Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc., a member of the Gokongwei Group, reported a 34.3 percent drop in attributable net income for the first half of 2023 to P1.8 billion from P2.74 billion in the same period last year.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said the decline is due to higher foreign exchange losses and equitized losses from associates.

It noted that, the interest expense from the acquisition financing of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) shares which were acquired earlier this year was fully offset by the dividend income from the BPI shares.

However, RRHI said it remained resilient as it managed to grow net sales and core net earnings by double-digit during the first half of the year.

***Robinsons Retail President and CEO Robina Gokongwei-Pe***

“We are encouraged with our first half results as we were able to grow despite the high base last year. We owe this to our expanding multi-format retail portfolio that continues to offer relevant products and services to consumers,” said RRHI President and CEO Robina Gokongwei-Pe.

RRHI said “this is notwithstanding the challenging base in the second quarter, as the second quarter of 2022 saw the company’s businesses benefit from economic reopening and election-related spending.”

The company’s core net earnings improved 10.6 percent year-on-year to P2.36 billion in the first half of 2023 from P2.14 billion last year.

This was mainly driven by a 10.5 percent increase in consolidated net sales to P91.0 billion from P82.37 billion and a higher growth in gross profit at 11.4 percent to P21.5 billion from P19.32 billion.

Topline sales were supported by blended same store sales growth (SSSG) of 6.3 percent and contributions from newly opened stores.

The supermarkets, drugstores, and department store segments continued to post double-digit revenue growth owing to sustained demand from the broad middle market.

Operating income increased by 6.8 percent to P3.9 billion, underpinned by positive topline growth.

Gokongwei-Pe noted that, “As we navigate the evolving economic landscape, we remain committed to prudent financial management, strategic decision-making, and sustainability in order to capitalize on opportunities to drive success and create shared value for our customers and stakeholders.”

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The article was originally published in Manila Bulletin and written by James A. Loyola.