THE local licensee of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain saw its net income jump by 18.9% in the second quarter of 2018, driven by higher sales and more operating stores for the period.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Friday, Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC) said it generated a net income of P342.7 million from April to June 2018, higher than the P288.3 million posted in the same period last year.
System-wide sales jumped 19.2% to P11.55 billion for the period, benefiting from a 6.3% increase in same-store sales.
This brought PSC’s net income to P533.2 million in the first half of 2018, 19.4% higher than the same period a year ago. System-wide sales also picked up 22.7% to P22.17 billion for the first six months of the year.
Same-store sales hit 9.2% on a six-month basis.
The company added a total of 114 stores while closing 14 during the first half, for a total of 2,386 stores in its portfolio by end June, or 14.3% more than the number of stores by the end of 2017’s first half. Of the store count, 1,866 are in Luzon — 906 of which are in Metro Manila —, 331 are in the Visayas, while 189 are in Mindanao.
PSC cited the favorable impact of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law’s implementation at the start of the year, which effectively increased its customers and average basket size. Among the features of the tax reform law was lowering personal income taxes and increase the excise tax for sugar-sweetened beverages, thereby increasing their prices.
“The lower personal income tax strengthened the purchasing power of the middle class and the excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages increased selling price but no significant decline in volume occurred,” the company noted.
This year, PSC has scheduled to spend at least P3.5 billion to support its store expansion program, which includes investing in new store openings, store renovations, and equipment acquisitions. The company said it remains on track in following this strategy.
“The focus of the organization going forward will be on increasing sales per store. There are various programs lined up covering expanding merchandise assortment and launching of new food and beverage items to serve as differentiation compared with other channels,” PSC said.
The company further looks to take advantage of its customers’ need for convenience through its e-commerce business.
Shares in PSC jumped 3.98% or P4.80 to close at P125.30 each at the stock exchange on Friday. — Arra B. Francia
