MANILA -- San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. (SMFB), the now consolidated food and beverage subsidiary of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp., announced that its ambitious expansion plans are in full steam, as it counts on a robust economy to propel its growth this year.
San Miguel Pure Foods Co. Inc. (SMF) President Francisco Alejo III said its expansion projects in feeds, poultry and meats, flour and processed meats are in full swing, with a number of them expected to be ready for commissioning by the end of 2018.
“The other expansion programs that we have are in advanced stage… So we expect that these new capacities will really help the company sustain its profitability going into the future,” he said during the company’s stockholders’ meeting on Friday.
SMF, now officially named SMFB, posted a 12-percent increase in consolidated revenues to PHP29.8 billion in the first quarter of 2018 on the back of the continued strong growth momentum of the poultry and meats and value-added meats businesses.
Its net income, however, declined 7 percent to PHP4.1 billion due to pre-operating expenses due to expansion, as well as market losses in the movements of the foreign exchange (forex).
“We expect for 2018 that we will be able to sustain our profitability coming from 2017,” said Alejo.
In 2017, the firm's net income surged by 16 percent to PHP6.91 billion from PHP5.98 billion the previous year.
“We are all looking at the robust economy of the Philippines, first quarter was 6.8-percent growth already. With all the infrastructure spending hopefully, a lot of employment will be created and it augurs well with our type of products. There is high spending on food, 40 percent of disposable income is on food so it’s quite huge,” he added. (PNA)
