Community quarantines continue to drag Metro Retail bottom line

Published May 12, 2021 11:30 AM By JON VIKTOR D. CABUENAS,GMA News

Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. (MRSGI) continued to post a net loss in the first quarter of the year, dragged by lower customer traffic due to the implementation of community quarantines.

MRSGI reported a net loss of P126.47 million in the first quarter, a reversal of the P7.98-million net income the company recorded in the comparable period last year.

Metro Manila and other "high-risk areas" were placed under the general community quarantine (GCQ) for most of the quarter

, before being placed back under the strictest enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) starting March 29 as COVID-19 cases surged.

Revenues fell 18.9% to P6.95 billion from P8.57 billion—total food retail business dropped 14.7%, general merchandise business lost 30.2%, and blended same store sales declined 21.4%.

MRSGI ended 2020 with 56 stores, which it has scaled up to 60 in the first three months of the year.

The company opened three more stores in the Cebu and Leyte provinces, and reopened its flagship Metro Ayala Center Cebu. Another store will be opened in Bacolod in June.

"Along with the challenges and uncertainties brought about by the pandemic are opportunities for growth that we intend to tap," MRSGI president and chief operating officer Manuel Alberto said in a regulatory filing.

"With the right strategy, people and partnerships, we are focusing on long-term sustainable recovery and growth," he added.

MRSGI's business is divided into three retail formats -- the supermarkets under the brands "Metro Supermarket" and "Metro Fresh N Easy"; the department stores under the "Metro Department Store" brand; and the hypermarkets under the "Super Metro" brand.

Shares in MRSGI opened Wednesday at P1.28 apiece, and are currently trading at the same price as of 11:05 a.m., unchanged from Tuesday's finish.—AOL, GMA News
 

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