MANILA, Philippines — Puregold Price Club Inc. reported that its net income tripled to P1.54 billion last year from the P510.37 billion earned in 2010 on the back of its aggressive expansion of its store network.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said net sales surged 34 percent to P38.99 billion from P29.11 billion in the previous year.

The firm also booked P1.05 billion in other income, 34.6 percent higher compared to P780.67 million in 2010. Other income includes instore revenues such as concession income, display allowance, and rent income.

Cost of sales rose by a slower 30.8 percent to P33.45 billion last year from P25.58 billion in 2010 while operating expenses rose 31.4 percent to P4.37 billion from P3.33 billion in the previous year.

The firm also reported a 70 percent drop in finance cost to P65.03 million from P220.26 million in 2010 as its balance sheet improved with the fresh cash infusion from its recent initial public offering.

Puregold also reported a total of P53.87 million gain from an insurance claim (P27.3 million), interest income (P25.14 million) and other items, compared to other expenses of P22.12 million in the previous year mainly due to a P33.48-million goodwill write-off from the merger with Suremart which stopped operation in August 31, 2010.