SBS doubles H1 profit

MANILA, Philippines - Chemical products distributor SBS Philippines Corp. doubled its net income to P72.5 million in the first half of the year on the back of higher sales.

 In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) yesterday, SBS said first half net sales rose by 27.3 percent year on year to P458.6 million, propelled by strong growth of its food ingredients business.

“The strong sales performance in the first half of 2015 was primarily driven by the food ingredients business which accounted for significant portion of the sales increase and the balance by pharmaceutical, feeds, veterinary care and industrial products,” SBS said.

The Sytengco-led company said it benefitted from strong domestic private consumption, which translated to increased chemical consumption by the manufacturing and production sectors.

SBS also said organic growth, lowered operating expenses in 2015 and increases in income contributions from non-core assets contributed to “exceptional profit growth.”

Esmeraldo Tepace, executive vice president and general manager of SBS, said the company sees bright prospects for its domestic and foreign operations.

“In the light of the continued economic development in the country and Asean region, the chemical distribution business is seen to continue its strong growth and SBS will be in the forefront of this trend given its highly diversified product lines and customer base,” Tepace said.

SBS made its debut on the local bourse on Aug. 10, raising a total of P1.15 billion from the issuance of 420 million common shares.

Proceeds from the initial public offering would be used to expand the firm’s product offering with about P100 million slated for disbursement in the first half of 2016.             

SBS has a customer base of more than 1,800 customers with over 3,000 chemical products sourced from more than 500 suppliers.