Rami Levi Marketing Network net profit increased by 23.4% to NIS 29.1 million

The Corona crisis has led to the rise of food and service shopping on the Rami Levi  Marketing Network. The company, which includes the food chain and its subsidiaries, including Copix, Good Pharm, Rami Levy Communications and the credit club, recorded sales and net profit increasing by 23.4% to NIS 29.1 million. The company's board of directors decided to distribute a dividend of NIS 25 million.
The company's sales rose 16.7% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year and amounted to NIS 1.62 billion. Food chain sales grew 15.7% to NIS 1.49 billion, partly due to the opening of 3 new stores. Identical store sales rose only 10.5%. "Other" segment sales, including Copics, Good Pharm, Communications and Credit Club, grew 28.6% to NIS 132.6 million.
The increase in sales was reflected in the gross profit line, which grew sharply by 22.8% to NIS 386.3 million. The Storkneck price index, which is based on sales data in marketing networks, rose 1.1% in March, presumably because retailers did not pass on discounts to consumers. This can be seen in the improvement in gross profitability, which reflects the gap between product purchase prices and consumer sales prices to 23.7% compared to 22.5% in the corresponding period last year.
The increase in spending has led to an increase in operating profit in the food chain to 2.97% compared to 3.3% in the same period last year. Thanks to a sharp increase in credit club operating profit and cellular activity to NIS 8.9 million compared to NIS half a million in the corresponding period last year, the company's operating profit improved by 19.5% but remained similar (3.2%) to the corresponding period last year (3.1%).
Despite exceptional demand recorded during the Corona online ordering crisis, the company did not specify the online share of its sales. The company has so far launched one automatic collection center in Tel Aviv and is preparing to open two more this year in Petah Tikva and Beer Sheva. Private brand share reached 19% of sales and the company aims to increase it to 25-30% of sales.