THE Philippine licensee of 7-Eleven convenience stores registered flat earnings in the second quarter of 2017 anchored on the recovery of same-store sales during the period.

Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC) reported a net profit of P288.3 million in the three-month period from P290 million a year ago, according to a disclosure to the stock exchange on Friday.

First-half net income fell 5.5% to P446.4 million from P472.3 million in 2016.

Same-store sales inched up 1.2% in the second quarter — a turnaround from the 2.5% decline in the previous quarter — arresting the first-semester decline to 1%. Election-related spending and other factors inflated sales in 2016.

Second-quarter system-wide sales climbed 19.4% to P9.68 billion from P8.12 billion, pushing the first-half tally up by 16.9% to P18.1 billion from P15.5 billion, anchored on the company’s aggressive store expansion nationwide.

7-Eleven expanded its store count by a fifth to 2,087 at end-June from 1,740 during same period in 2016. A total of 109 new stores were added in the first half against 17 closures.

Broken down, PSC has 1,686 outlets in Luzon, including 829 in Metro Manila. There are also 269 stores in the Visayas and 132 branches in Mindanao.

PSC said it is on course with its store expansion program by opening new stores in existing and new markets even if competition had slowed down, while noting favorable results of capacity building expenditures.

“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,” the company said.

Shares in PSC were unchanged at P175 apiece on Friday. – Krista Angela M. Montealegre

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