MR D.I.Y. store expansion plan on track

PETALING JAYA: MR D.I.Y. Group (M) Bhd aims to open 57 stores across all three of its brands in the final quarter of 2023, in line with its five-year expansion plans.

The home improvement retailer said its store expansion for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2023 (FY23) remains largely on track.

In the first nine months of its financial year 2023 (9M23), MR D.I.Y. saw a net growth of 123 stores across its three core brands – MR. DIY, MR. TOY and MR. DOLLAR – an increase of about 12% from December 2022, with the majority being MR. DIY stores.

“The group also revealed its five-year growth plan and store opening target of 2,000 stores by FY28 across its core brands, with an emphasis on the flagship MR. DIY brand. This 2,000-store target translates to approximately 19,000 of the population served per store,” it noted.

Meanwhile, in a filing with Bursa Malaysia, MR D.I.Y. said it is focused on the strategic expansion of its store network, optimising revenue per sq ft and operational efficiency, which is key to driving financial performance and enhancing shareholder value.

For the coming financial year, MR D.I.Y. targets to open 180 new stores across all its core retail brands.

“As an integral but secondary dimension to the group’s growth strategy, we will make measured investments into new retail concepts, which are adjacent to our current retail verticals in order to build greater specialisation, economies of scale and a more robust platform for long-term growth,” it added.

For the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (3Q23), MR D.I.Y. saw its revenue grow by 10.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM1.1bil, driven by contributions from new stores.

The group’s total transactions rose by 16.3% y-o-y to 41.6 million in 3Q23.

Net profit rose by 22.5% y-o-y to RM123.9mil, while net earnings margin improved by 1.1 percentage points to 11.6%, mainly due to the normalisation of freight costs as well as the impact of price adjustment exercise carried out in FY22.

Basic earnings per share stood at 1.31 sen versus 1.07 sen previously.

For 9M23, MR D.I.Y. registered revenue and net profit of RM3.21bil and RM402.04mil, up by 10% and 19.3% compared with the corresponding period in FY22, respectively.

The overall growth for the period is consistent with the above-mentioned factors.

Commenting on the results, chief executive officer Adrian Ong Chu Jin said the group’s 3Q23 performance met expectations, outpacing the retail trade with y-o-y growth in revenue and net earnings.

“This reflects the resilience of the business, particularly during the environment of persistent rising inflationary and interest rates that has affected household disposable income and consumer sentiment, further exacerbated by the absence of any seasonal festivities during the quarter,” he added.

He acknowledged the impact of rising inflation and interest rates on consumers and assured that the group is committed to keeping household essentials affordable.