EARNINGS of Cosco Capital, Inc. shot up 193% during the January to September period, mainly due to the one-time gain from the sale of its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) business.

The Lucio L. Co-led retail holding firm said in a statement yesterday its net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company stood at P11.46 billion during the nine months to September.

Cosco completed its divestment from Liquigaz Philippines Corp. in January 2019. The company did not disclose the value of the deal.

Excluding the gains from the sale of Liquigaz, core net income attributable to equity holders grew 14% to P4.25 billion, while consolidated core net income hit P6.51 billion or a 13.1% jump from last year.

Revenues were flat at P118.53 billion, coming from four major revenue streams: grocery retailing, liquor distribution, specialty retail and real estate.

The grocery retailing segment through Puregold Price Club, Inc. and S&R Membership Shopping Club increased its consolidated revenues by 10.3% to P109.8 billion, and its net profit by 2.9% to P4.55 billion. The company opened 17 new Puregold stores and one new S&R warehouse during the first nine months of the year.

Excluding the one-time gain from selling the company’s equity investment in Lawson convenience stores last year, the grocery retailing segment grew its core net income 12.1% during the period.

The liquor distribution business of Cosco posted a 28% increase in revenues to P7.35 billion, driven by the 42% higher volume of cases it was able to sell during the nine-month period.

Revenues from the commercial real estate segment climbed 4.3% to P1.92 billion, while net profit grew 9.2% to P940 million.

The company was able to record a 98% average occupancy rate in its 55 commercial properties during the period, driving the growth on the top line. It also opened a new community mall in the first quarter in Aurora and acquired a new property in the first half of the year in Iloilo.

The specialty retailing segment, operated by Office Warehouse, Inc., posted a 19.1% jump in revenues to P1.88 billion. Same-store sales growth of 13.5% was the main driver of revenue growth. Office Warehouse opened four new stores during the period to have a total of 91 stores as of September.

Cosco is looking to spend P5.8 billion in capital expenditures until the end of the year, of which P5.2 billion will go to the Puregold Group, P500 million to the real estate group and P75 million to Office Warehouse.

Shares in Cosco inched up 0.02 points or 0.29% to P6.92 each, while shares in Puregold gained 0.10 points or 0.26% to P38.50 each on Wednesday. — Denise A. Valdez

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