MerryMart recorded stronger earnings in January to September

Billionaire Edgar “Injap” Sia II’s growing business empire saw mixed results in the first nine months of year.

His supermarket chain, MerryMart Consumer Corp., booked stronger earnings after adding new stores and the acquisition of the 75-year-old Carlos SuperDrug chain in Quezon province on July.

But his venture with fast food tycoon Tony Tan Caktiong, DoubleDragon Properties Corp., saw earnings drop due to extraordinary gains in the previous year.

In its filing, MerryMart booked a net income of 23.1 million, up 58.6 percent, while total revenue rose 15.92 percent to P2.81 billion.

MerryMart operates a host of formats, from smaller community grocery outlets to larger supermarkets.

It will end 2021 with 100 branches, including acquisitions, the filing showed.

On Monday, MerryMart bought a majority stake in Cecile’s Pharmacy in Zamboanga.

“There are very few drug store chains in the Philippines that have been operational for decades and remain market leaders and the top-of-mind brand in their respective regions,” Sia said in the filing.

“Carlos SuperDrug and Cecile’s Pharmacy are among that select group that stood the test of time and we believe these acquisitions will add great value to the MerryMart Group’s ecosystem,” he added.

DoubleDragon’s latest quarterly figures showed net income dropping 17 percent to P4.18 billion—the decline coming from a P5.5-billion one-off fair value gain recorded in the third quarter of 2020.

Removing the impact of the one-off gain, DoubleDragon said its nine-month profit would have increased by more than 250 percent.

Meanwhile, total revenue fell by almost 55 percent to P4.41 billion. Movement restrictions contributed to decline in rental income, which was down 14.6 percent to P2.53 billion. INQ