THREE listed companies chaired by Edgar “Injap” J. Sia II posted profit and revenue gains in the first semester, according to separate regulatory filings on Monday, ahead of what he called “coming positive cycle” post-pandemic.

“Our whole team will continue to be relentless in our pursuit to make all the business units and brands under MerryMart Consumer Corp. and DoubleDragon Properties Corp. well-loved household brands serving all its stakeholders and for both to become major contributors to our economy in the years to come,” Mr. Sia said in a MerryMart statement.

DoubleDragon saw its core net income for the six-month period surge by 543% year on year to P3.72 billion as consolidated revenues inched up by nearly two percent to P2.69 billion, excluding one-off fair value gains.

The listed real estate developer said its recurring revenues also grew to P1.99 billion for the first semester, up by 5.96% from P1.88 billion. This was due to the almost six percent growth in rental income to P1.71 billion from P1.61 billion in the same period last year.

“We are determined to cause DoubleDragon to soon become an active contributor in the rebuilding of our new economy, and to become a major beneficiary in the next coming positive cycle post this unprecedented global pandemic,” Mr. Sia said in a DoubleDragon statement.

Its 43 commercial centers across the country are said to maintain an 89.58% occupancy rate as most of its leasable space in CityMalls cater to essential services like supermarkets, pharmacies, clinics, and banks.

Meanwhile, the company said rooms in Hotel 101–Manila was 92.93% occupied in the first semester.

Its real estate investment trust (REIT) office portfolio, on the other hand, has maintained a 97.72% occupancy rate. The company said the office sector continues to be stable.

In a separate disclosure, listed DDMP REIT, Inc. said it generated a net income of P1.84 billion in the second quarter, up by nearly four-fold quarter on quarter from P399.65 million. Its rental and CUSA (common use service area) income inched up by 7.69% to P547.70 million from P547.7 million in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, DoubleDragon will be ending the year with 1.2 million square meters (sq.m.) of leasable space under its portfolio following the completion of CentralHub Tarlac’s Phase 3. The development added 10,646 sq.m. to its portfolio.

DoubleDragon, in tandem with Jollibee Foods Corp., will also be launching the country’s “first and largest” industrial REIT in 2022 through its leasing arm CentralHub Industrial Centers, Inc. The announcement was made in early July.

GROCER KEEPING EYES OPEN FOR M&A
Listed grocery operator MerryMart said its consolidated net income posted a 20.09% growth to P16.4 million in the first half of the year, up from its P13.67-million profit logged in the same period last year.

MerryMart’s consolidated revenues, on the other hand, went up by 12.34% to P1.84 billion from P1.64 billion.

The MerryMart group has 41 operational stores across the country. The consolidation of pharmacy chain Carlos Drugs-Lucena, Inc.’s Carlos SuperDrug 27 branches would bump up MerryMart’s network to 68 stores nationwide.

“MerryMart will continue to keep its eyes open for merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities in both the grocery and pharmacy space that would accelerate its growth and allow it to capitalize on the continued consolidation from traditional to modern retail in the Philippines,” Mr. Sia said in a MerryMart statement.

It now has a 10,764 sq.m. central distribution center in CentralHub Tarlac, which has the capacity to hold up to 12,000 pallets and serve over 100 MerryMart stores of various formats.

“This will be our template format for all our distribution centers in the pipeline as well as MerryMart Wholesale Club, which we expect will bring in a completely new stream of revenues since it is tapping into a larger market that we have yet to fully capture,” MerryMart Chief Financial Officer Hannah Yulo-Luccini said.

MerryMart has various store formats under its belt, namely: MerryMart Store, MerryMart Market, MerryMart Grocery, MerryMart Wholesale and Dark Groceries. MerryMart wants to have P120 billion in system-wide recurring consumer sales revenues by 2030.

Under “Vision 2030,” MerryMart is also aiming to have 1,200 stores across the Philippines and a 5,000-wide MBOX smart locker network. MBOX Smart Lockers are the first product under its consumer technology portfolio with a new subsidiary, MM Consumer Technologies Corp.

Shares of DoubleDragon Properties went up by 1.39% or 14 centavos on Monday to close at P10.24 each, while shares of DDMP REIT closed unchanged at P1.77 apiece.

Meanwhile, MerryMart stocks were down by 3.40% or 12 centavos to close at P3.41 each. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

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