7-Eleven sees drop in ’11 sales

Listed Philippine Seven Corp., the local operator of the international 7-Eleven chain of retail stores, expects sales to drop this year, as high inflation and the lack of election-related spending slows down domestic consumption.

But the company still expects profit to at least stay at 2010 levels as it rolls out more stores in the Luzon area.

“Last year, we had a much stronger economy and that is hard to beat,” Philippine Seven president and CEO Victor Paterno said.

Philippine Seven’s profit surged by 78 percent in 2010 to P277 million after it opened up 112 new stores. The company’s expansion was supported by massive election-related spending during the first quarter of the year.

But speaking to reporters late last week, Paterno said its second-quarter earnings would likely take the same track as the decline seen in January to March this year.

“All consumer-related businesses were not happy in the first quarter,” Paterno said. The company’s profit fell to P37.1 million in the first quarter, from P50.1 million a year earlier.