Tanduay profit jumps 88% to P660M

Tanduay Holdings Inc., the hard liquor concern of tobacco and beer magnate Lucio Tan, said its net profit jumped 88 percent to P660 million last year on higher sales.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Tanduay said net sales rose 22 percent to P6.76 billion, largely a result of higher sales volume and the increase in selling prices by 13 percent. Sales volume increased by nine percent.

A sustained advertising campaign resulted in the strong performances of Tanduay’s main product lines such as Tanduay Five Years and ESQ. The company launched a new product, Cossak Vodka, during the third quarter of 2004 and was warmly accepted by the drinking public.

Tanduay said the increase in consumer demand could also be attributed to the national and local elections held in May 2004.

The company’s 2004 net profit translates to earnings per share of P0.20, up from P0.11 a year earlier.

Tanduay’s total assets amounted to P7.29 billion with cash assets amounting to P1.21 billion (before reduction for dividends payable on March 1, 2005 of P327 million). Stockholders’ equity, on the other hand, amounted to P6.21 billion for a book value per share of P1.91, up by 13 percent from P1.69.

In the same report, Tanduay said its board approved the acquisition of majority control of six liquor-based or alcohol companies, namely Asian Alcohol Corp., Absolute Chemicals Inc., DyZum Distillery Inc., Cabuyao Packaging Corp., Flor De Cana Shipping Inc., and Negros General Services

The management was directed to negotiate for the best terms and conditions, including tax costs, for the acquisition.

Tanduay was acquired by the Lucio Tan Group’s Twin Ace Holdings Corp. from the Elizalde family in May 1988. Following the purchase, the group launched a plant modernization and expansion program that increased the distillery’s production capacity by almost 50 times.

On July 1999, Asian Pacific Equity Corp. (APEC), a publicly-listed company also owned and controlled by the Lucio Tan Group, acquired 100-percent ownership of Twin Ace Holdings via a share swap with Twin Ace’s existing shareholders which formalized Tanduay’s entry into the local stock market.

On Nov. 1999, APEC changed its corporate name to Tanduay Holdings. and increased its authorized capital from P1 billion to P5 billion.