San Miguel acquires fifth bottling firm in Oceania

MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Corp. said its international packaging business, San Miguel Yamamura Packaging International Ltd. (SMYPIL), has acquired Best Bottlers Pty Ltd. (Best Bottlers) as it continues to boost its packaging presence in the Australasian region.

SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said the latest acquisition is intended to meet the growing demand in the region.

“As domestic and export demands grow, we continue to look for synergies and more opportunities for our packaging business. In line with this, we are building a new glass plant in Cavite to be operational by the end of 2018. Other than glass, we also see the potential to grow other packaging formats like cans, plastics, and tolling businesses,” Ang said.

The acquisition was done through SMYPIL’s Australian subsidiary, San Miguel Yamamura Australasia Pty Ltd.

Best Bottlers, located in Victoria, Australia, is a wine bottling and packaging facility specializing in various formats of contract filling.

Its line of business includes still and sparkling wines, cider, ready-to-drink and non-alcoholic beverages, including fruit juices.  

Best Bottlers marks SMYPIL’s fifth acquisition in the Oceania region serving the wine industry after it earlier acquired Barossa Bottling and Portavin, both in Australia.

Previously the packaging group acquired the assets of Endeavor Glass of New Zealand and the cork and wine closures business of Vinocor and Cospak, another major packaging provider.

While it continues to diversify, SMC  remains focused on strengthening its traditional businesses. It recently consolidated its food and beverage businesses under San Miguel Purefoods.

It expects to triple its 2016 net income by 2020 as existing businesses expand and the new ones such as power and infrastructure contribute more in the next three years.

SMC posted a P52.2 billion net income last year, 80 percent higher than the previous year on the back of higher revenues and better margins across its major businesses. 

From originally a beer business, SMC’s businesses now comprise liquor, food, infrastructure, power, packaging and oil. 

It has become a major infrastructure player in the country with several big-ticket projects in its portfolio.These include the Boracay Airport, the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union expressway, the Skyway and MRT-7, which is set to be completed by 2019.