Higher costs, low sales in Jan to Feb drag Wilcon Q1 earnings

MANILA, Philippines –  Higher expenses pulled down the first-quarter earnings of Wilcon Depot Inc. by 27.5 percent to P536 million, reflecting a challenging environment for the home improvement industry.

The Belo family-led company disclosed to the stock exchange on Monday its net sales inched up by 1.2 percent to P8.41 billion.

Growth was slower due to lower sales in the first two months of the year, Wilcon president Lorraine Belo-Cincochan said in a statement.

READ: Wilcon earnings weakened to P2.53 billion in 2024

New stores drove overall sales growth in the January to March period, particularly the new depot in North Luzon and a smaller format Do-It-Wilcon in Metro Manila.

The two stores brought Wilcon’s total network to 102 branches across the country.

Meanwhile, gross profit declined by 1.7 percent to P3.26 billion due to margin rate contraction in the nonexclusive, exclusive and in-house brand categories.

Operating costs were up by 7.8 percent to P2.66 billion on the back of depreciation for new store buildings, lease-related interest expenses and salaries.