Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. said profit in the first half of the year reached P6.8 billion, up 278.1 percent from the prior year’s P1.8 billion.
Sales grew 3 percent to P93.71 billion from P90.98 billion a year ago.
For the second quarter of the year, profit rose36.2 percent to P1.72 billion from P1.26 billion the previous year.
Sales improved 3.1 percent to P47.82 billion from P46.38 billion.
The Gokongwei-led retailer said the boost in profit was driven by higher dividend income from its stake in the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and lower losses from associates as well as the one-time gain with the sale of its stake in Robinsons Bank to BPI.
Robinsons Retail said blended same store sales growth in the first half of the year improved by 0.7 percent
“We continue to generate earnings growth by focusing on controllable factors such as opening stores in strategic locations, enhancing our merchandise mix, and streamlining costs. We are confident that we can sustain the earnings momentum in the latter half of the year as we accelerate store openings, while moderating inflation should be a boon for consumer spending,” said Robina Gokongwei-Pe, Robinsons Retail chief executive officer.
As of end-June, Robinsons Retail operates 2,401 stores consisting of 755 food stores, 1,082 drugstores, 49 department stores, 224 DIY and 291 specialty stores.
It also has over 2,100 franchised stores of The Generics Pharmacy.
