Home improvement and construction supply retailer Wilcon Depot Inc. reported that its net income inched up 3.5 percent to ₱1.2 billion in the first half of 2026 as net sales grew 10.9 percent to ₱18.98 billion.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Tuesday, Aug. 11, the firm said revenue growth was traced mainly to comparable sales growth, which rose 6.6 percent year-on-year, while all regions, including project sales, recorded positive comparable sales growth rates during the half.

On a per-format basis, depots, accounting for 96.3 percent of total net sales, grew by 10.9 percent year-on-year to ₱18.27 billion, with same-store sales driving the increase with 6.6-percent growth over the same period last year.

Net sales from smaller Do It Wilcon formats (DIWs) contributed 3.2 percent of total net sales and grew by 12.4 percent to ₱607 million for the first half. The increase was driven almost equally by same-store sales growth of 6.1 percent and sales from new stores.

Project sales contributed the remaining 0.5 percent, totaling ₱96 million for the period.

Gross profit amounted to ₱7.08 billion, increasing by seven percent due mainly to higher sales, partly offset by the contraction in the gross profit margin rate to 37.3 percent due to sales mix.

Lower-margin non-exclusive product sales growth outperformed the sales growth of the exclusive and in-house brands, resulting in the decrease in the contribution of the latter to total net sales to 50.5 percent from 52.3 percent during the same period last year.

“Our second-quarter results showed solid demand, with total sales up 12.7 percent and same-store sales rising 8.4 percent,” said Wilcon President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lorraine Belo-Cincochan.

She noted, “Every region delivered positive same-store sales growth. The mix shifted toward lower-margin non-exclusive products, which brought down our blended gross profit margin. Operating expenses (opex) also increased in the quarter, driven largely by factors outside our control, though the cost measures we have in place are already helping to ease the impact.”

“We are encouraged by the gains in customer count and sales volume. These show we are reaching more customers and give us room to improve the product mix and manage costs in the second half,” Belo-Cincochan added.

Wilcon opened five new stores in the first half, and while these new stores contributed substantially to the opex increase, below-one-year stores for the first half still generated positive net income.

“We are targeting to open three more stores for the rest of the year. We have so far spent ₱1.2 billion in capital expenditures (capex) with the bulk spent on construction of new stores and warehouses,” Belo-Cincochan said.

Net sales in the second quarter of 2026 amounted to ₱9.81 billion, up 12.7 percent year-on-year, driven mainly by comparable sales growth of 8.4 percent. Net income for the quarter totaled ₱641 million, up 2.4 percent year-on-year.

Except for project sales, all regions delivered positive same-store sales. During the period, two new small-format DIW branches were opened in Luzon. - James A. Loyola