Ramon Ang in high spirits as Ginebra doubles Q1 profit

MANILA, Philippines — Ginebra San Miguel Inc., the hard liquor unit of San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc., expects its net income to grow to P2.5 billion this year from P1.05 billion in 2018.

San Miguel Corp. president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said 2019 would be a good year for Ginebra.

“If you notice, there’s been a substantial turnaround in the performance of the company,” Ang said during Ginebra’s annual shareholders meeting Thursday.

He said there has been a lot of improvements in operations, and a huge focus on boosting sales and its logistics network.

In the first quarter, Ginebra more than doubled its profit to P616 million, largely due to wider distribution and higher operational efficiencies.

Consolidated revenue rose 28 percent to P8.3 billion while operating income soared 122 percent to P986 million.

Ginebra got a huge boost from its Ginebra Ako marketing campaign, which resonated well with consumers and strengthened brand relevance.  This resulted in a 24 percent volume growth in the first quarter.

Last year, Ginebra registered P24.8 billion in consolidated revenue on the back of higher volumes which grew 13 percent year-on-year.

This resulted in  higher operating income of P1.8 billion for a 40 percent improvement, while net income  jumped 75 percent to P1.05 billion.

In his message to shareholders, Ginebra chairman and CEO Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr. said the company prioritized key areas of business last year, resulting in significant improvements for the company.

“We’re proud to be able to report that your company returned to billion level profitability – no mean feat considering that the market today is much more competitive, sophisticated and less homogenous,” Cojuangco said.

He said improvements in internal processes, logistics, and bottling operations all helped temper the impact of higher raw materials and production costs driven by the substantial adjustments in fuel excise taxes, weaker currency and higher inflation in 2018.