Puregold Price Club Inc., the grocery retail leader controlled by tycoon Lucio Co, reported a 4.5 percent growth in consolidated net income to P6.9 billion in the first nine months of 2024, up from P6.6 billion in the same period last year.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the firm said its consolidated revenue grew by 9.1 percent to P151.97 billion in the first nine months of 2024, compared to P139.3 billion in the same period last year.
The company experienced positive same-store sales growth (SSSG) in the first nine months of 2024 - 3.5 percent from Puregold Stores and 4.1 percent from S&R Warehouse clubs -- driven by higher traffic and basket size.
Puregold said its topline growth was complemented by a slight improvement in gross margins for the S&R Warehouse club business. The company added that it continues to see strong topline growth for the remainder of 2024.
As of the end of September 2024, Puregold opened 19 new Puregold stores, three S&R Membership Shopping Warehouses, and three S&R New York Style QSRs (quick-service restaurants).
The group has a total of 591 stores nationwide, including 505 Puregold stores, 29 S&R Membership Shopping Warehouses, and 57 S&R New York Style QSRs.
Meanwhile, Puregold is acquiring 120 to 130 Puremart stores from Tower 6789 Corporation, also owned by the Co family, for P567.5 million.
In a separate disclosure, Puregold said the acquisition of Puremart stores includes their leasehold improvements, furniture and fixtures, equipment, and merchandise inventory.
The stores are located across Metro Manila, CAMANAVA (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela), Rizal, Bulacan, and South Luzon.
Tower 6789 Corporation is a domestic corporation wholly owned by League One, Inc., which is 100 percent owned by the Co family, making this a related-party transaction.
"As such, this matter was initially endorsed for the approval of Puregold Price Club Inc.'s audit committee, pursuant to its policy on related-party transactions," Puregold said.
The company noted that the consideration for the acquisition is substantially below 10 percent of its book value and will be based on the carrying value of the aforementioned assets as of Sept. 30, 2024.
Puregold also disclosed that it will not renew its share buy-back program for 2025.