Victorias Milling income up 34% in 9 months

MANILA, Philippines — Sugar miller Victorias Milling Co. Inc. (VMC) said its net income in the nine-month period of the current crop year went up by 34 percent as it benefitted from high sugar prices.

In a regulatory filing, the company reported a net income of P559 million in September 2018 to May 2019, from P418 million recorded in the comparative period a year earlier.

Revenue, however, declined 15 percent to P4.9 billion from P5.8 billion it earned in 2018.

“The decline in revenue was mainly due to the decline in the volume of sugar sold, which was partially offset by the increase in sugar prices and the increase in ethanol volume,” the company said.

“Even with the decline in revenue, gross profit improved 22 percent mainly from comparatively high sugar prices which compensated for the higher cost of cane hauling in the current year,” it added.

Production data showed the company milled 2.7 million metric tons (MT) of cane, almost the same volume as the prior year, prompting raw sugar production to decrease by five percent.

Milling recovery rate, likewise, was slightly lower at 1.86 50-kilogram bags per ton cane (LKG/TC) milled compared with the 1.89 50-LKG/TC in 2018.

VMC‘s sugar milling business went down 49 percent to P2.06 billion from P4.02 billion due to lower sugar net production despite early start of refinery operations.

Alcohol sales posted an 89 percent drop to P18 million from the previous P153 million, while power generation revenues jumped 156 percent to P86 million.

The company’s distillery commenced operations only in January last year after completion of its expansion and dehydrator projects.

VMC is engaged in integrated raw and refined sugar manufacturing from plant facilities in Negros Occidental.

It operates mill and refinery facilities for sugar and allied products, and engineering services.Its operating subsidiaries include Victorias Food Corp., Victorias Agricultural Land Corp., Canetown Development Corp. and Victorias Golf and Country Club Inc.