GROCERY chain operator Puregold Price Club Inc. said its net income grew more than 10 percent last year on higher consumer demand, partly as a result of the 2016 national elections.
The company said its profits surged P5.3 billion from last year’s P5 billion, while consolidated net margins last year was at 4.9 percent.
“Puregold’s 2016 same-store sales hike of 6.2 percent and 4.4 percent for S&R stores were driven by continued strong consumer demand even after the elections. For 2017, we will continue to build another 25 new Puregold stores and two S&R Membership Warehouses to cater to the growing number of Filipino consumers,” Puregold President Vincent Co said.
Consolidated net sales increased by 16 percent to P112.6 in 2016, due to the strong consumer demand from its existing Puregold, S&R stores and S&R New York Style Pizza stores, as well as the 26 newly opened stores of Puregold and two S&R Membership Warehouse stores.
Income from operations of the country’s second-largest grocery-store operator grew to P8.1 billion in 2016, up 13 percent compared to the P7.15 billion it made during the same period last year.
As of end 2016, the Puregold Group had 329 stores nationwide, including 277 Puregold stores, 12 S&R membership shopping warehouse and 23 S&R New York Style Pizza stores, nine NE Bodega supermarkets and eight Budgetlane supermarkets.
Puregold earlier said it will push for more branches in Mindanao as it tries to cover more areas in still many parts of the country.
Over the past two years to three years, its branch expansion in the southernmost part of the country has been limited to just two stores a year.
At the moment, the company only has about eight branches in Davao, including its most recent, opening in Cotabato last week.
The company earlier said it does not have a branch in places like Iligan, Pagadian, Dipolog and Ozamiz, all of which are ripe to have a Puregold branch.