Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 4) — Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. (RRHI) reported higher earnings during the third quarter even with the return of strict quarantine measures in the capital region, its latest regulatory filing stated.
The listed retail giant on Thursday reported a net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company worth ₱1.04 billion during the third quarter — a 38.7% rise. This brought earnings from January to September to ₱2.7 billion — also growing by 13.3%.
“Year-to-date results were still dampened by effects of the pandemic as sales still reflected a decline of 0.6% to ₱108.9 billion and a 10.4% dip in operating income,” RRHI said in a disclosure to the local stock exchange.
Still, net sales from July to September leaped by 8.3% to ₱37.5 billion despite the National Capital Region reverting to lockdowns later into the quarter.
RRHI attributed this to the double-digit same store sales growth (SSSG) of its drugstore segment, along with the positive SSSG of its department store, convenience store, and appliance businesses.
E-commerce sales, meanwhile, surged to ₱1.8 billion from July to September — “3.5x of e-commerce sales in 3Q2020 and already 4.8% of total sales for the quarter” — according to the company.
RRHI president and chief executive officer Robina Gokongwei-Pe welcomed the latest figures, noting their third quarter performance in particular is “indicative of the pivot” amid the country’s economic recovery.
She also emphasized the role of easing of restrictions in light of increasing vaccinations and declining COVID-19 cases in sustaining RRHI’s growth momentum in the quarters ahead.
“While there are still challenges in the overall macro, Robinsons Retail will continue to focus on financial prudence while at the same time drive agility in bringing forward customer-centered innovation in all of our formats and channels,” said Gokongwei-Pe, who also cited efforts to build on their digital strategy and enhance their online capabilities.
RRHI shares finished at ₱63 apiece on Thursday, down 1.10% from Wednesday’s close.
