KUALA LUMPUR: MR DIY Group (M) Bhd's net profit has more than doubled to RM124.79 million in the first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2021 from RM58.46 million a year earlier.
In a statement today, the company said the higher results come on the back of higher average monthly sales per store.
This is attributed to strong performance of its standalone stores, and lower sales during the comparative period last year due to the lockdown imposed between March 18 and 31, 2020.
"The improved performance was also a result of positive contribution from new stores, where its store network increased by 25.5 per cent, from 628 in Q1 2020 to 788 in Q1 2021.
"In addition, total transactions for the quarter rose 21.7 per cent from 24.6 million to 29.9 million," it said.
Mr DIY's revenue in Q1 increased 62.93 per cent to RM870.18 million from RM534.09 million.
During the quarter, the company's store network grew by a net 54 stores across its three brands, comprising 30 new MR DIY stores, 22 new MR DOLLAR stores and 2 new MR TOY stores.
As at March 31, 2021, total number of stores stood at 788, comprising 713 MR DIY stores, 39 MR TOY stores and 36 MR DOLLAR stores.
The company said it aims to open a further 121 stores across its three brands in 2021.
"This is our strongest quarterly performance to date, and comes on the back of several factors, the backbone of which is our promise of value at a time when customers are sensitive to the impact of the current environment on their wallets.
"Our store network continues to grow, making our stores more and more accessible to consumers restricted by pandemic-related movement orders.
"Our breadth of products has expanded to about 18,000 SKUs today and we are investing in growing our e-commerce platform, and in managing efficiencies.
"These have been the cornerstones of our growth strategy which continue to deliver sound results," chief executive officer Adrian Ong said.
Ong said moving forward, the company will continue to stay the course of creating sustainable growth via the strategic expansion of its store network across its three brands: MR D.I.Y., MR TOY and MR DOLLAR, while increasing sales in existing stores and expanding our e-commerce business.
"In addition, the home improvement industry is expected to grow at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 10.7 per cent over five years from 2020-2025, which indicates that there is significant scope for our business to further penetrate the home improvement retail market," he added.
In line with the company's policy of paying quarterly dividends, MR DIY has declared a dividend of 0.8 sen per share, amounting to RM50.2 million.
The dividend will be paid on June 17.