Wilcon Depot books P887M in April-Dec.

WILCON DEPOT, Inc. ( WDI) netted P887 million in the last nine months of 2016 after the home improvement and construction supplies retailer launched new stores to boost sales and took advantage of supplier discounts.

Net sales reached P12.3 billion in the April to December period, 96.7% of which was generated by its depot format stores, WDI Chief Financial Officer Mark Andrew Y. Belo said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Wednesday.

The company could not provide details about its full-year financial performance since WDI only began operations on April 1, 2016 when the retail business and assets were completely transferred from parent company Wilcon Corp., formerly Wilcon Builder’s Depot, Inc.

Prior to the transfer of the retail operations, the parent company booked a net profit of P269 million and net sales of P3.7 billion based on audited statements for the threemonth period ending March.

Sales in the nine-month period got a lift from the opening of two new stores in Molino, Cavite and Sta. Rosa, Laguna in September last year.

These areas enjoyed a boom in real estate development particularly in the horizontal housing segment, which is Wilcon’s natural market, Mr. Belo said.

Gross profit amounted to P3.3 billion, translating to a gross margin of 26.8%, while operating profit reached P1.04 billion for an operating margin of 8.5%.

“During the year, we have also maximized the rebates and discounts available to us from our suppliers as we reached most and even exceeded some of our sales volume targets. This contributed to our margins and consequently bumped up our net income as we have also efficiently managed our operating expenses,” Mr. Belo said.

WDI likewise introduced new initiatives this year, including the expansion of its own brands in product categories with strong market potential.

“We hope that these initiatives along with our planned store expansion will bear fruit and sustain our growth trajectory in the next few years,” Mr. Belo said.

WDI made its debut on the Philippine Stock Exchange last month after raising P7 billion from the sale of 34% of its total issued and outstanding shares at P5.05 per share.

Shares in WDI have risen since it joined the bourse, adding 17 centavos or 3.24% to end at P5.42 apiece on Wednesday.