La Tondeña now known as Ginebra San Miguel Inc.

La Tondeña Distillers Inc. (LTDI) announced that its board of directors has approved yesterday the change of its corporate name to Ginebra San Miguel Inc. following its conversion into a fully-liquor based company.

In a press statement, LTDI said the change of name was made to reflect the company’s focus on its core business which is liquor." The change aligning the corporate name with the company’s flagship brand, Ginebra San Miguel, is expected to further strengthen and reinforce the product’s brand equity," LTDI said.

Apart from Ginebra San Miguel, which is acknowledged as the largest selling gin in the world, LTDI’s wines and spirit line consists of Añejo Rum, Vino Kulafu, Tondeña Manila Rum, Oxford London Dry Gin, San Miguel Bravo Rum and Cordial Lime Juice.

LTDI, the largest producer of liquor in the country, said the new name will benefit from the prestige and heritage of the name of its parent firm, San Miguel Corp.

The company has transferred its last remaining non-liquor business, Sugarland Corp., to sister unit San Miguel Pure Foods Co.

Sugarland Corp. spun off from Sugarland Beverage Corp. (SBC), a joint venture between LTDI and SMC with an ownership structure of 51 percent and 49 percent, respectively. SBC, in turn, was acquired from Sugarland Multi-Food Corp. in May 2000 for P2.9 billion, and merged as an operating unit of LTDI to boost its non-liquor line then consisting of market leaders in the juice and jelly snacks and bottled water products.

In line with SMC’s groupwide integration and restructuring starting in 2001 with the acquisitions of three major businesses — Coca Cola Botters Philippines Inc.(CCBPI), Cosmos Botlling Corp. and Pure Foods Corp. — LTDI merged its acquired units SBC, Metro Bottled Water Corp. and SMC Juice Inc. into a single entity and divested them for $141 million (P7.334 billion) to fold into the Coca-Cola-led group.

Although LTDI’s water and juice segments contribute 27 percent to total revenues, the company remains firmly anchored on its hard liquor line which is its solid growth driver making up 73 percent of total sales.

LTDI posted a 39-percent growth in its net income last year to P1.65 billion on revenues of P11.2 billion. – Zinnia dela Peña