Retail company Puregold Price Club, Inc. logged a mere 2.1 percent increase in its net income to P6.6 billion in the first nine months of this year from P6.4 billion in the same period in 2022 due to compressed margins and higher operating expenses.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the company's net sales grew by 9.2 percent to P139 billion in the same period in 2023 comparative to P128 billion last year.
Its gross profit was recorded at P26 billion for the first nine months in 2023, which is seven percent higher than P24 billion in the same period of 2022.
Aside from earning marginal gains, the enterprise also saw a positive same store sales growth (SSGS) attributed to higher consumer traffic. The SSSG for Puregold Stores registered modest gains of 4.8 percent while S&R Warehouse clubs logged a 4.1 percent.
The company opened 30 new Puregold stores, two S&R Membership Shopping Warehouses, and two S&R New York Style QSR, as of September 2023.
Overall, it owns 558 stories across the country, comprising 481 Puregold Stores, 24 S&R Membership Shopping Warehouses, and 53 S&R New York Style QSRs.
Puregold said its "SSSG trends continued to normalize starting in the second quarter as a contrast to the more flattering base effects felt in the first quarter of this year."
"The company continues to see a buoyant trajectory in top line growth for the balance of the year," it added.
For the first nine years of 2023, its gross operating income also increased by six percent to P28 billion from P26 million for the same period in 2022. Its operating expenses also rose by 12 percent to P18 billion in the nine-month period of 2023 from P16 billion in 2022.