Puregold nets P5B

BUSINESSMAN Lucio Co-led Puregold Price Club Inc. , the country’s second largest grocery retailer, grew net profit last year by 10.6 percent to P5 billion as its store network grew sales while keeping the highest margins among its peers.

Consolidated net margins in 2015 stood at 5.1 percent, the highest among grocery retailers in the country.

“Strong consumer demand has driven Puregold only same store sales growth (SSSG) of 3.8 percent in 2015 which is the highest SSSG growth in the last four years. We look forward to sustain or achieve higher same store sales growth in 2016 given that the same stores sales growth in the first two months of 2016 has been in the 7 to 8 percent,” Puregold president Vincent Co said in a press statement.

Puregold grew its consolidated net sales by 14.7 percent to P97.17 in 2015, which the company attributed to the strong consumer demand from its existing Puregold, S&R stores and S&R New York Style Pizza stores as well as the newly opened stores.

Operating income went up by 10.4 percent to P7.15 billion in 2015.

As of end 2015, Puregold group had a total of 298 stores nationwide, broken down as follows: 255 Puregold stores, 10 S&R stores, and 16 S&R New York Style quick service restaurants and 17 stores of NE Bodega and Budgetlane Supermarket.