Robinsons Retail income dives to P3.2B

LISTED Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. posted an almost 30-percent drop in its net income last year to P3.2 billion from P4.6 billion in 2019.

In a disclosure to the exchange, the Gokongweiled firm said its unaudited consolidated net sales also dipped 7.3-percent yearon-year to P151 billion from P162.9 billion due to the economic effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

Robinsons Retail said the sales include the two month-result of Rose Pharmacy, which the company acquired in October last year.

“2020 was a year of difficulties for many businesses. Covid-19 might be considered a first in our lifetime, yet we remained resilient and focused on providing the best products and services to our customers,” Robinsons Retail President and Chief Executive Officer Robina Gokongwei-Pe said in the disclosure.

“I want to thank our partners, suppliers and employees for doing their best to ensure that our customers have access to their needs during these trying times. We remain steadfast in our commitment in 2021, confident that we can drive sustainable growth for all of our stakeholders,” she continued.

Meanwhile, Robinsons Retail’s blended same store sales growth (SSSG) last year shed 8.9 percent on the back of the performance of its non-essential formats, which were closed for eight weeks in 2020.

SSSG of its supermarket segment, on the other hand, was 7.7-percent higher, while SSSG of drugstores was flat as prescription drugs sales declined in the second half of 2020.

SSSG of the department store, do-it-yourself and convenience store segment was down year-on-year but showed improvement in the fourth quarter amid eased quarantine measures.

Robinsons Retail said it accelerated its e-commerce presence as the pandemic shifted most economic activities online.

The company’s e-commerce sales climbed last year, registering nearly 300-percent increase from the previous year, including sales from third party platforms.

Robinsons Retail has 2,157 stores, including 178 supermarkets, 16 hypermarkets, 70 minimarts, 49 department stores, 225 do-it-yourself stores, 472 convenience stores, 829 drugstores and 318 specialty stores. On top of this are 2,025 franchised stores of TGP drug stores.

Shares of Robinsons Retail were unchanged at P56.55 each on Monday.