Leading convenience store operator Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC) booked a 16.6-percent growth in net profit last year to P1.18 billion as retail sales were boosted by the opening of new stores and a modest growth in same-store sales.
PSC, the local licensee of 7-Eleven convenience stores, booked a 23.2-percent rise in system-wide sales to P31.8 billion. The increase was attributed to the higher number of operating stores and the 1.2- percent growth in same store sales during the year.
Store count as of last year reached 1,995, expanding by 393 stores or 24.5 percent from the level in the previous year.
There were 1,633 7-Eleven stores in Luzon, 808 of which are in Metro Manila, while 255 are in Visayas and 107 in Mindanao. Franchisees control 55 percent of total stores while the rest are company-owned.
PSC’s full-year cash flow increased by 20.6 percent to P3.11 billion.
The average net margin eased to 4.1 percent last year from 4.5 percent in 2015. For the fourth quarter of 2016 alone, net margin stood at 7 percent compared to 7.4 percent in the previous year.
For the fourth quarter alone, PSC’s net profit rose by 8 percent year-on-year to P532.1 million. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla