MANILA – One of the country’s largest food and beverage manufacturers, Universal Robina Corp. (URC), reported Thursday that it closed 2023 with sales amounting to PHP158.4 billion.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, URC said its sales rose by 6 percent last year even with a record-high baseline in 2022 of PHP149.9 billion.
“Both the Branded Consumer Foods (BCF) and the Agro-Industrial & Commodities (AIC) businesses continued their momentum into the fourth quarter, growing sequentially versus the previous quarter,” it said.
The company’s operating income grew 14 percent in 2023 against the previous year, more than double topline growth, to close at PHP17.4 billion.
On the other hand, URC’s net income last year dropped 12 percent to PHP12.8 billion “due to higher comparables from gain on land sale last year."
Its core net income increased by 6 percent to PHP12.6 billion, driven by operating income growth but tempered by higher interest rates.
The company ended 2023 with a healthy cash balance of PHP12.2 billion, a net debt of PHP13.4 billion, and a gearing ratio of 0.23.
URC is a core subsidiary of JG Summit Holdings, Inc. (PNA)
