Robinsons Retail earnings rose 9.6% in Q1 to P696M

Gokongwei-led retailer Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. grew core earnings in the first quarter by 9.6 percent year-on-year to P696 million, excluding treasury activities and its share of income from Robinsons Bank.

RRHI also disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange Monday that net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company grew by a marginal 0.5 percent year-on-year to P785 million in the first quarter.

This was attributed to the booking of P73 million in unrealized foreign exchange losses from the US dollar denominated available-for-sale investments, on the back of the appreciation of the peso against the US dollar at end-March versus the end-2015 level.

Consolidated net sales for the first quarter grew by 15.1 percent year-on-year to P22.7 billion, driven by the same-store sales growth rate of 9 percent and the sales contribution of new stores.

Robinsons Retail operated a total of 1,514 stores (+158 stores from April 2015 to March 2016) and expanded its total gross floor area by 7.8 percent year-on-year to around 967,000 square meters.

“Our first quarter results affirm our optimism for 2016. Increased consumption from election-related spending and lower fuel and utility costs, combined with improved customer service on our part, has boosted our consolidated same store sales performance to a record-high. Building a solid foundation for long-term profitable growth, we are working hard to sustain this strong start for the rest of the year,” said RRHI president Robina Gokongwei-Pe.

Meanwhile, RRHI unit Robinsons Supermarket Corp. has teamed up with HappyFresh Philippines for an online grocery delivery service, which was officially launched on May 15.

With this partnership, customers can order their grocery requirements from within a 5-kilometer radius of 20 selected Robinsons Supermarket branches in Metro Manila.

This will initially be offered to residents of Metro Manila and eventually to other urban centers in the country.

HappyFresh will initially offer around 4,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) in its online grocery platform but this will eventually be expanded to include the entire in-store product assortment of Robinsons Supermarket which number around 15,000 to 20,000 SKUs for the customers to select and buy.

As a value-added to the partnership, HappyFresh will provide Robinsons Supermarket with analytics to enable it to create assortment, pricing, promotions, and other strategies to tailor its product offerings and services based on what the customer wants and needs.

“We are excited to partner with HappyFresh as its first online grocery delivery service partner in the Philippines. The online grocery delivery business will complement our offline business. We look forward to offering this new shopping experience to our consumers,” said Gokongwei-Pe.

“As one of the most populous and well-connected countries in Southeast Asia, the Philippines is an important country for HappyFresh in terms of market potential. Local customers recognize the convenience of on-demand and scheduled grocery delivery services and we are excited to be partnering with one of the largest supermarket chains in the country to bring quality service at a wide range of price points to our customers,” said Isabel Barrientos, managing director of HappyFresh Philippines. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla