Wilcon Depot earns 50% more in 2022

Wilcon Depot Inc. (WDI), the listed home improvement and finishing construction supplies retailer, reported a net income of P3.8 billion last year, up 50.2 percent from a year ago.

In the fourth quarter alone, the company generated P888 million in net income, up 28.3 percent from the previous year’s level.

“Wilcon delivered a strong fourth quarter performance to cap off a record year for us. We generated P888 million in net income for the quarter, a growth of 28.3 percent year-on-year, which brought our full year net income to P3.848 billion, up 50.2 percent over our 2021 net income,” said Wilcon president and CEO Lorraine Belo-Cincochan.

Net sales for the year increased by 22 percent, or P6.057 billion, attributed mainly to the increased business volume with the resumption of private construction upon the full opening of the economy from pandemic-related restrictions after the COVID-19 Omicron variant surge eased toward the end of the first quarter.

During the period, Wilcon opened 10 stores all in Luzon. Nine depots and one Home Essentials were opened, bringing to 83 the total number of branches by the end of 2022.

Continuous investments in store network expansion, additional warehouse buildings in the main distribution center, store and transportation equipment, IT infrastructure and software, and renovations resulted in a total capital expenditure of P2.643 billion for the year.

“Our net sales grew 22 percent year-onyear, mainly driven by the turnaround of our older stores with our comparable sales growth hitting 14.2 percent for 2022. There was marked increase in private construction activities toward the end of the first quarter up to the end of the year despite strong inflationary pressures. Our results also reflected our resilience and adaptability in coping with the myriad challenges of operating in a pandemic-disrupted environment,” Belo-Cincochan said.

She said the company seized the country’s overall economic recovery with investments in inventory, people and in process improvements.

“This enabled us to continuously serve the requirements of our customers and provide them with our usual excellent customer experience,” she said.

Against this backdrop, Wilcon’s board of directors approved the distribution of cash dividends amounting to P1.517 billion, equivalent to P0.37 per share, consisting of P0.23 per share regular and P0.14 per share special dividends.