Metro Retail Stores Group's (PSE:MRSGI) net income for 2024 dropped to 609.4 million Philippine pesos versus 618.0 million Pesos a year earlier, according to a Wednesday Philippine bourse filing.

Net sales for the year, however, rose 3.5% to 39.6 billion pesos in 2024 from 38.3 billion pesos a year prior. The growth was driven by positive contributions from the company's ongoing expansion efforts, and a 4.9% rise in the food retail business.

Meanwhile, same-store sales edged up 0.5%, due to the effect of scaling down low-margin wholesale transactions during the year, the department store operator said.

Metro Retail Stores declared regular cash dividends amounting to 194.5 million pesos, or 0.06 per share, it added.