month net profit by 13.8 percent year on year to P3 billion on higher sales volume and firmer margins backed by supplier discounts.
In the third quarter alone, net profit surged by 55 percent year on year, contributing about P1.35 billion to its year-to-date net profit.
Shares of Puregold surged by 4.18 percent to close at P36.15 a share on Wednesday as the market welcomed the improvement in the company’s performance in the third quarter compared to that of the first semester, when it posted only P1.656 billion in net profit.
The latest closing price gave the flagship business of Chinese-Filipino businessman Lucio Co a market capitalization of P95.99 billion.
April Lee-Tan, head of research at leading online stock brokerage COL Financial, said Puregold’s nine-month net income had “outperformed estimates due to better-than-expected third quarter 2014 gross margins.”
She added that the nine-month bottom line had accounted for 75.7 percent of COL’s full year forecasts.
Net profit margin for the nine-month period also firmed up at 5 percent compared to 4.3 percent in the first semester of the year, Puregold told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
“Our solid performance in the third quarter of the year reinforces our confidence that Puregold will continue to achieve substantial growth for the full year of 2014,” Puregold president Leonardo Dayao said in a press statement.
Sales revenue in the first nine months improved by 16.1 percent year-on-year to P59.8 billion as the company reported a positive increase in same-store sales alongside the opening of 26 new stores this year. Five more stores are set to open before yearend.
Puregold also reported strong supplier support during the annual convention with its wholesale customers, which the company noted to have boosted earnings performance in the third quarter.–Doris C. Dumlao