ROBINSONS RETAIL Holdings, Inc. (RRHI) booked a single-digit growth in its attributable profit for 2017, backed by lower foreign exchange gains and higher taxable income.
In a statement issued over the weekend, the Gokongwei-led firm reported a net income attributable to the parent of P4.98 billion, 3.1% higher than the P4.83 billion it posted in 2016.
Net sales grew by 9.4% to P115.24 billion last year, while operating profit accordingly increased 14.8% to P6.3 billion.
“The improvement was driven by stronger sales, resilient same store sales growth despite coming from a high base in 2016 boosted by election spending and improvement in gross margins,” RRHI said.
Same-store sales were higher by 2.7% during the period, complemented by the sales contribution of 140 new stores as well as the full year consolidation of newly acquired segments The Generics Pharmacy, De Oro Pacific Home Plus, and Chic Centre.
The supermarket segment, which is RRHI’s largest, booked a 2.5% increase in same store sales. Do-it-yourself stores improved by 6.4%, convenience stores picked up 2.9%, drugstores advanced by 1.6%, while specialty stores expanded by 7.8%.
The company ended 2017 with a total of 1,718 stores, 154 of which are supermarkets, 49 are department stores, 193 are do-it-yourself stores, 496 are convenience stores, 484 are drugstores, while 342 are specialty stores. The newly opened stores added 1.15 million square meters of gross floor area to RRHI’s portfolio.
ACQUISITION
RRHI is further expand its supermarket business, as it acquires Rustan Supercenters, Inc. (RSCI).
RRHI is planning to buy out 100% of Mulgrave Corp. B.V.’s share in Rustan Supercenters, valued at around P18 billion. Mulgrave is a wholly owned unit of the Dairy Farm International Holdings, Ltd. group of companies.
The company in a disclosure late Friday said that it has signed a share purchase agreement with Dairy Farm for the acquisition, after which the two firms will partner for a food retail business.
The transaction will see RRHI take over food retail brands such as Marketplace by Rustan’s, Rustan’s Supermarket, Shopwise Hypermarket, Shopwise Express, and Wellcome.
RRHI said some members of the Gokongwei family will be selling their shares to bring their stake in the company’s expanded capital to 51%. A secondary sale tranche will then allow Dairy Farm, through MCBV, to own 18.25% of RRHI.
“Leveraging the combined strengths of RRHI and RSCI will lead to benefits to customers in terms of even better service, quality, and value,” RRHI said.
The company will seek approval from its shareholders, the Philippine Competition Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission before completing the transaction. RRHI targets to close the transaction within the next four to six months. — Arra B. Francia
