Wilcon Depot Inc. said it grew its 2022 profit by 50.2 percent to P3.848 billion from P2.56 billion.
Sales increased by 22 percent to P33.57 billion from P27.51 billion, attributed mainly to increased business volume with the resumption of private construction upon the full opening of the economy from pandemic-related restrictions.
“Comparable sales grew 14.2 percent with Metro Manila stores contributing the most to the increase. The remainder of the increase was contributed by below one year sales from stores opened in 2021 and 2022,” the company said.
Wilcon opened 10 stores last year, all in Luzon.
“Nine depots and one Home Essentials were opened, bringing to 83 the total number of branches by the end of 2022,” it said.
“Net sales from depot format stores comprised the majority, accounting for 97.2 percent of total net sales, the smaller format Home Essentials contributed 1.9 percent and project sales the remaining 0.9 percent,” the company said.
Wilcon said it spent P2.643 billion as capital expenditures last year for continued investments in store network expansion, additional warehouse buildings in the main distribution center, store and transportation equipment, IT infrastructure and software, and renovations.
Lorraine Belo-Cincochan, Wilcon president, said the company’s growth is also attributable to the turnaround of older stores, 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. We seized the country’s overall economic recovery with our timely investments in inventory, our 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.
Wilcon has declared a P1.52 billion cash dividend, equivalent to P0.37 per share, divided into a P0.23 per share regular cash dividend and a P0.14 per share special cash dividends.
It will be distributed to shareholders as of March 17, 2023 with payment set for April 18, 2023.
