URC nets P10.3 billion

MANILA, Philippines — Universal Robina Corp. (URC), the Gokongwei-led snack foods giant, reported a net income of P10.3 billion in the nine months to September, up six percent versus the same period last year.

Core net income for the nine-month period grew by 11 percent, and was up 12 percent for the third quarter.

This was on the back of nine month sales of P117.6 billion, up nine percent compared to last year.

Irwin Lee, URC president and CEO, said despite the fact that consumers are absorbing higher food and fuel prices from elevated inflation, the company maintained its sales momentum, providing products and brands that people love.

“Our efforts to improve profitability will support our investments in brand building and supply chain strength, to further drive growth and create value for all our stakeholders,” Lee said.

Despite the challenging macroeconomic landscape from higher inflation, third quarter sales were up six percent compared to a year ago, boosted by the agro-industrial and commodities business.

By business segment, the Branded Consumer Foods (BCF) grew its sales by three percent to P81.1 billion during the nine month period.

Of this, BCF Philippines delivered P56.2 billion in revenues, growing by four percent from a year ago while BCF International ended the nine-month period with revenue of P24.9 billion, up two percent versus last year.

This was driven by performances of core businesses in Vietnam, Myanmar and Malaysia.

The Agro-Industrial and Commodities divisions, meanwhile, sustained its strong momentum with sales of P35.6 billion during the nine-month period, up by 27 percent versus the same period last year.

All three businesses – agro-industrial, sugar and renewables, and flour – showed double- digit growth in the third quarter on the back of higher volumes.