Food and beverage firms report higher H1 earnings

MANILA, Philippines — Food and beverage firms led by Ramon Ang, Betty Ang, and the Po family booked higher earnings in the first half due to higher sales for the period.

San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. (SMFB) reported a six-percent increase in net income to P20 billion as sales improved by four percent to P192.9 billion.

Higher volumes, improved pricing, and lower raw material costs contributed to San Miguel Foods’ growth during the period, while improved sales volume in the second quarter lifted consolidated revenues of San Miguel Brewery Inc.

“SMFB has had a strong start to the year, and we remain focused on leveraging our strengths to drive growth and efficiency,” SMFB chairman Ramon Ang said.

“We are also committed to supporting our nation’s food security and economic growth by expanding access to essential products. We are very optimistic about the opportunities ahead and confident in our ability to deliver continued value to all our stakeholders,” Ang said.

Monde Nissin Corp., meanwhile, reported a 45.5-percent jump in core net income attributable to shareholders to P5.1 billion in the first half.

Monde generated P40.1 billion in revenue during the six months, up 3.1 percent year-on-year.

“During the second quarter, Asia Pacific branded food and beverage saw modest topline growth and continued gross margin and core net income expansion on a year-on-year basis. Our APAC BFB gross margins have substantially rebounded from last year’s levels. While we believe further sequential gains will be limited, we expect to see continued improvement in the third quarter on a year-on-year basis,” Monde CEO Henry Soesanto said.

“For our meat alternative business, we saw some gradual improvement in gross margin, which we expect will be maintained and improved upon as the year progresses as our focus remains on optimizing costs and looking for efficiencies to maintain EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) neutral or better for the year,” he said.

Meanwhile, Century Pacific Food Inc. (CNPF) saw earnings rise by 14 percent to P3.63 billion as commodity costs eased.

Consolidated revenues for the six months stood at P37.7 billion, up by 13 percent, fueled by the continued recovery of the company’s OEM exports segment and the sustained growth performance of the branded segment.

“Our first half journey was no walk in the park, but we are encouraged by the company’s volume-led growth performance. We pulled through because of our diversified, all-weather business model,” CNPF chief finance officer Chad Manapat said.

“The OEM exports segment outperformed, while the branded business delivered sustained growth amid persistent inflationary pressures. We endeavor to keep this momentum throughout the year as we reinvest margin gains to stimulate demand further and give more value to our consumers,” Manapat said.