Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. (RRHI) on Thursday said its net income in January to September rose 13 percent to P2.7 billion from last year’s P2.39 billion despite a decline in sales during the period.
The company said its net sales from January to September fell 0.6 percent to P108.92 billion from last year’s P109.57 billion.
For the quarter ending September, the company said it saw a 38-percent jump in attributable net income to P1.04 billion from last year’s P750 million.
Net sales for the quarter rose 8 percent to P37.5 billion as against P34.6 billion last year, despite the two-week enhanced community quarantine in August in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
This was predominantly driven by the double-digit same store sales growth (SSSG) of the drugstore segment and positive SSSG of the department store, convenience store and the appliance business.
“The continued improvement in our third quarter performance is indicative of the pivot as the Philippine economy recovers. With more people getting vaccinated resulting in a drop in Covid-19 cases, quarantine/mobility restrictions are now relaxed,” Robina Gokongwei-Pe, the company’s president and CEO, said.
“This further supports our view that we can sustain the growth momentum of the business into the succeeding quarters. While there are still challenges in the overall macro, Robinsons Retail will continue to focus on financial prudence while at the same time drive agility in bringing forward customer-centered innovation in all of our formats and channels. We continue to build on our digital strategy and further enhance our online capabilities to serve and fulfill the needs of our customers in the best possible way.”
E-commerce sales continued to grow, reaching P1.8 billion in the third quarter alone. This was 3.5 times of e-commerce sales last year and already 4.8 percent of total sales for the quarter.
Year-to-date results were still dampened by the effects of the pandemic as RRHI’s operating income fell 10.4 percent, the company said.
In September, the company announced that it will expand its drugstore business in the country after it opened its 870th drugstore in Cebu.
The company said it opened a Rose Pharmacy branch in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, which it regards as a milestone for RRHI’s drugstore business.
The company also owns TGP or The Generics Pharmacy, which has over 2,000 franchised stores nationwide.
RRHI acquired Rose Pharmacy Inc. in 2020 from Mulgrave Corp. B.V, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd.