Wilcon profit slips 3% on store closures

Quarantine restrictions still weighed down on Wilcon Depot, Inc. as it earned P533.21 million in the third quarter, lower by 2.92% from a year ago.

In the nine months to September, the company’s net income fell by 42.6% to P886 million, mainly due to the temporary closure of most stores between mid-March to mid-May, based on its regulatory filing, Friday.

The company booked P6.75 billion in net sales in July-September, increasing by 7.9% year-on- year. However, year-to-date, its net sales are lower by 12.5% to P15.79 billion against last year’s record.

“We are very encouraged by the ramp up of our sales in the third quarter and we are hopeful that the growth trajectory will continue in the fourth,” Wilcon Chief Executive Officer Lorraine Belo-Cincochan said in a separate statement.

Sales from depot-format stores, accounting for most of the net sales, were down by 11.5% to P1.98 billion between January and September. Same-store sales contracted by 17.6%.

Its smaller concept called Home Essentials, contributing 2.3% of the net sales, also recorded a 26.9% sales decline to P132 million. Same-store sales fell by 26.9%.

Project sales and sales to major developers were at P129 million, down by half from last year. As of September, the company grew its store count to 61, adding four new depots since the start of 2020.

“We are continuously studying ways by which we can improve efficiencies given our results amid this pandemic, but we are also trying to balance this vis-à-vis our long-term goals and our obligations and commitments to all our stakeholders – including our customers, suppliers, employees and communities,” Ms. Belo-Cincochan said.

Shares in Wilcon inched down 0.28% to close at P14.30 each on Friday. — Adam J. Ang