Puregold posts P1.15-B income as polls drive consumer spending

TYCOON Lucio Co-led Puregold Price Club grew its first quarter net profit by 9.5 percent year-on-year to P1.15 billion, benefiting from higher sales volume and margins amid robust consumer spending during the run-up to the presidential elections.

Consolidated net margins in the first quarter of 2016 stood at 4.7 percent.

“Our first quarter same store sales growth (SSSG) of 7.3 percent for Puregold stores and 4.8 percent for S&R stores was driven by strong consumer demand,” Puregold president Vincent Co said.

Puregold’s consolidated net sales increased by 19.7 percent year-on-year to P24.76 billion in the first quarter due to the strong consumer demand from its existing Puregold, S&R stores, S&R New York Style Pizza stores as well as newly opened stores.

Income from operations improved by 12.9 percent year-on-year to P1.67 billion in the first quarter.

As of end-2015, the Puregold group already has a total of 298 stores nationwide. These included 255 Puregold stores, 10 S&R stores and 16 S&R New York Style fast-food restaurants, 17 stores of NE Bodega and Budgetlane Supermarket.

Meanwhile, Gaisano-led retailer Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. (MRSGI), the largest retailer in the Visayas region, posted a 69.2 percent year-on-year growth in first quarter net income to P52.8 million.

Driven by a strong SSSG of 7.4 percent, MRSGI posted an all-stores growth of 9.7 percent in terms of net sales for the first three months of the year.

“Building on our robust growth last year, our strong start for 2016 demonstrated our continued commitment to deliver more value to our customers and shareholders,” MRSGI chair and CEO Frank Gaisano said. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla