7-Eleven planning to offer Cebu lechon this year

Convenience store operator Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC) on Thursday said it is now in talks with a prospective partner for the possible launch of a Cebu lechon line in 7-Eleven stores by the end of the year.

"We're trying to investigate how to do lechon.. Probably Cebu lechon because it's salty, so best value. You can eat a lot of rice with it basically," PSC President and CEO Jose Victor Paterno said in press briefing in Pasig City.

According to Pateno, the company is now in talks with a possible supplier which has the capacity to supply to several stores at once.

"With this one, if you share among a few hundred other stores, it'll probably still be crispy," he said.

The company reported an 18.9-percent increase in its net income to P342.7 million during the second quarter of the year, up from the P288.3 million the same period last year.

This brought the first-half bottom line to P533.2 million, up by 19.4 percent from P446.4 million the comparable period in 2017.

"I think we've been a big beneficiary of TRAIN," Paterno said, referring to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) of the Duterte administration.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed the first package of the TRAIN Law on December 19, effectively reducing the personal income tax (PIT) and the expanding the value-added tax (VAT) base starting this year.

"On the 15th of January of the 16th of January people got their pay, we saw it as well. We saw that increase," Paterno said. —KBK, GMA News