Puregold earns P5.84B in 2017

EARNINGS of Puregold Price Club, Inc. grew by 5.7% in 2017, backed by a double-digit increase in sales from its chain of supermarkets across the country.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday, Puregold said net income last year stood at P5.84 billion, higher than the P5.53 billion it generated in 2016.

Strong consumer demand at Puregold supermarkets, S& R Membership warehouse clubs, and S& R New York Style Pizza stores boosted the company’s consolidated sales for 2017, which rose 10.6% to P124 billion during the year.

This translated to consolidated net margins of 4.7% in 2017.

Same store sales grew by 4.4% and 6.5% from Puregold stores and S& R stores, respectively. Puregold said these figures are “better than expected... driven by the strong consumer demand and the sustained economic growth of the country.”

Same store sales refer to revenues generated from existing stores that have been open for more than one year.

The Lucio L. Co-led firm ended 2017 with a total of 372 stores across the country, 309 of which are Puregold stores, 14 S&R membership shopping warehouses, 32 S&R New York Style QSR, nine NE Bodega Supermarkets, and eight Budgetlane Supermarkets.

The company will continue its store expansion this year with plans to put up 25 new Puregold stores as well as two S&R warehouses. It has yet to disclose the locations of these new stores, but openings in 2017 indicate that the firm is gearing toward expansion outside Luzon and into new geographic areas.

Last year, Puregold also merged with a number of provincial retail firms to expand its footprint in the provinces.

Puregold earlier noted that 2018 will be an “exciting year,” given the passage of the first package of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law, which is seen to drive consumer spending given their higher disposable income.

Incorporated in 1998, Puregold engages in the trading of goods, primarily consumer products such as canned goods, housewares, toiletries, dry goods, food products, pharmaceuticals, and medical goods on a wholesale and retail basis.

Puregold operates in several retail formats, including Puregold Price Club for both retail customers and resellers; Puregold Junior, its neighborhood store format, and Puregold Extra, which are smaller stores offering a more limited choice of goods.

Shares in Puregold dropped 80 centavos or 1.52% to close at P51.95 apiece at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday.