Puregold Price Club, Inc. (PGOLD) reported a 5.4 percent improvement in consolidated net income to P4.2 billion in the first half of 2022 from the P4.0 billion earned in the same period last year.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said “This was principally driven by the continuous organic expansion of the Group’s grocery retail outlets, strategic cost management and sustained strong consumer demand.”

Consolidated net sales increased by 7.9 percent to P82.2 billion in the first semester of 2022 from P76.2 billion in the comparative period of 2021 as mobility eased further in the second quarter.

Total traffic to all stores increased by 10 percent versus the same period last year. Sales also grew due to sales contribution from full operation new stores opened in 2021 and revenue contribution from newly opened stores in 2022 of both Puregold and S&R.

With increased shopper confidence, the enterprise experienced positive same store sales growth (SSSG) of 0.6 percent for Puregold Stores and 3.8 percent for S&R Warehouse Clubs.

Gross profit of P15.70 billion grew at a faster clip by 9.8 percent year-on-year as operating expenses rose to P10.4 billion - a 6.9 percent increase from a year ago.

Margins also rose from 18.7 in the first half of 2021 to 19.1 percent in the same period of 2022, driven by strong and continuing suppliers' support through additional trade discounts in the form of rebates and conditional discounts granted during the period.

The group opened 9 new Puregold stores in the first half of 2022 for a total of 507 stores nationwide as of end-June 2022. These include 438 Puregold stores, 22 S&R membership shopping warehouses, and 47 S&R New York Style QSRs.