7-ELEVEN OPERATOR SUSTAINS 2020 LOSS OF P419.7M
Leading convenience store operator Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC) returned to profitability in the fourth quarter of 2020 as sales gradually improved alongside the reopening of the economy amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are not out of the woods, by any stretch. Our financial performance has been abysmal, and when our profit and growth numbers will return depends on not just the pandemic and how the Philippines navigates its end, but on how quickly our online and offline pivots take root, if at all,” Jose Victor Paterno, PSC president and chief executive officer, said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday.
Due to losses incurred in the second and third quarters of 2020, the Philippine licensee of 7-Eleven stores ended with a full-year net loss of P419.7 million, a reversal of the P1.44 billion in net profit posted the previous year.
For the fourth quarter alone, net profit amounted to P165.6 million, down by 77.9 percent year-on-year. However, this marked a turnaround from the losses in the past two quarters.
Proactive pivot
“In times like these, we believe it is better to look not at numbers and forecasts, but inmarket stead at one’s position relative to others caught in the same fierce—and unpredictable— storm. In that regard, we take pride and confidence in a proactive pivot executed at speed, helped as it was by prework before the pandemic, relative to that of our more optimistic peers,” Paterno said.
Same-store sales in the fourth quarter grew by 14.3 percent compared with sales of the preceding quarter. Full-year same store sales dropped by 18.4 percent as the restricted movement of individuals and hampered commercial activities.
The sales of 7-Eleven stores in the office and school clusters were the most affected. On a system-wide basis, however, the company said it was able to generate strong level of cash flow to enable it to support its product and market development plans moving forward.
While the past 12 months had been unprecedented, Paterno said PSC had big ambitions and sheer determination to remake the company in the face of adversity.
PSC ended 2020 with a nationwide store count of 2,978 stores. There are 2,261 7-Eleven stores in Luzon, 1,010 of which are in Metro Manila, 432 in Visayas and 285 in Mindanao.