Ginebra San Miguel posts 14% profit hike to P925M in first half

Ginebra San Miguel Inc. (GSM), the hard liquor unit of food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp., posted a net income of P925 million in the first half this year, up by 14 percent from a year ago.

The increase was driven by stronger sales volume and continued enhancements in operational efficiencies, the company said.

For the second quarter alone, GSM’s profits rose 13 percent to P458 million.

The company’s consolidated sales volume for the first six months of 2003 was eight percent higher. As a result, consolidated revenues grew by nine percent to P5.97 billion.

GSM said the improvement of its credit and collection system enabled it to reduce accounts receivable to P1 billion as of end-June 2003 from P1.5 billion in the same period last year.

GSM said fixed its costs remained relatively flat compared to the previous year, owing to a deliberate cost management program the company has been implementing since 2002.

The company will use the proceeds from the sale of Sugarland Corp., together with cash generated from improved working capital levels, to pare down debt and cut down interest expense.

It added that as economic difficulties persist, the company will continue its efforts to reduce overhead costs by streamlining work systems and managing operational expenses.

To sustain its dominant position in the industry, GSM will build a P2-billion facility in Batangas in preparation for its aggressive overseas expansion this year.

The plant, which will be completed in two years, is expected to increase capacity by 20 million cases of liquor per year.

The move is in line with the company’s efforts to bring its products to other Asian markets and other countries with high growth potentials. GSM is looking at exporting to Europe this year to improve volumes.

Following its initial success in exporting liquor products to Thailand, GSM has been able to penetrate the Korean market through a tolling arrangement for a new fruit-based liquor,Celavi. This product capitalizes on developing private labels for foreign partners as a means of gaining access to new markets, with minimal operating and financial risks.

Company officials said GSM’s long-term growth continues to be promising with volume and revenue growth expected to come from the sustained solid performance of Southern Philippines, the development of new products and expansion in key Asian countries.

For this year, the company plans to launch a range of products and packaging innovations to capture emerging consumer segments and to fortify its hold on traditional markets.