Wilcon posted record profit in 2022
Wilcon Depot Inc., the home improvement retailer or businessman William Belo, delivered record profits in 2022 amid the sharp recovery of private construction activities as worries over the global health crisis peeled away.
In a stock exchange filing on Friday, Wilcon said net income reached P3.85 billion, up 50.2 percent, while sales jumped 22 percent to 33.57 billion.
Gains were bolstered by “increased business volume with the resumption of private construction upon the full opening of the economy from pandemic-related restrictions after the COVID-19 Omicron variant surge ebbed toward the end of the first quarter.”
Wilcon also opened nine depots and one Home Essentials format store in Luzon to end the year with 83 branches.
Net sales from depot format stores comprised the majority, accounting for 97.2 percent of total net sales. It said the smaller format Home Essentials contributed 1.9 percent and project sales accounted for the remaining 0.9 percent
“There was marked increase in private construction activities toward the end of the first quarter up to the end of the year despite strong inflationary pressures,” Lorraine Belo- Cincochan, Wilcon president and CEO, said in the statement.
“Our results also reflected our resilience and adaptability in coping with the myriad challenges of operating in a pandemic-disrupted environment,” she said.
“We seized the country’s overall economic recovery with our timely investments in inventory, our people and in process improvements”, she added.
The company said profits were further bolstered by the sale of higher margin in-house and exclusive brands.
For the year, gross profit grew by 27.7 percent to P13.13 billion while margins rose by 175 basis points to 39.1 percent. Operating income also rose 17 percent to P8.42 billion as the company continued to expand.
For the fourth quarter alone, Wilcon reported profits of P888 million, up 28.3 percent while net sales increased 18.5 percent to P8.85 billion.
On Friday, Wilcon announced the approval of a P1.52 billion cash dividend. This was comprised of a regular dividend of P0.23 per share and P0.14 special dividend per share to be paid on April 18, 2023 to shareholders of record as of March 17.
