SMC food and beverage unit eyes entry to Europe, Africa

MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. (SMFB), the newly consolidated food and beverage giant of San Miguel Corp., plans to bring its products to new markets in Europe and Africa as it aims to become an even bigger global player.

The company’s products are now exported to 60 countries.

“We plan to grow further in Asia, Middle East, US and Australia and new markets in Europe and Africa through image-building, volume generating programs and expansion of distribution base,” SMFB said in documents it is providing investors as part of its forthcoming P142.8 billion share sale.

Here at home, SMFB is trumpeting its capacity expansion plans as it transitions to having company owned facilities instead of relying on toil manufacturers.

The company plans to increase capacity for its value-added meats, dairy, spreads and biscuits by 130,000 metric tons starting this year through 2020.

For poultry, pork and feed, the company is building “three processing facilities with 74 million birds total capacity from 2018 to 2020.”

Also in the pipeline are five new feed mills with 1.5 million metric tons capacity. One of these mills will be equipped with “aquatic floating feeds to increase the food division’s capacity for higher mating products and help supply the Visayas and Mindanao region.”

SMFB is also building a new flour mill in Mabini, Batangas which will provide additional capacity of 11 million bags and a ready-to-eat facility in Luzon.

The company is pouring in roughly P6 billion for the two new plants.

Of the P6 billion, the company is spending P3.7 billion for the Batangas facility which will start commercial operations in the first quarter of next year, while the remaining P2 billion will be used for the “ready-to-eat” plant in Laguna, which is targeted to commence commercial operations in March 2019.

The second phase, on the other hand, is targeted for completion in 2024.

It will also build four facilities and manufacturing lines for hotdogs, butter, margarine and cheese and cannery.

For the beer business, the company is expanding its production facility in Sta. Rosa, Laguna to serve South Luzon. It also plans to put up new production facilities in Tagoloan Misamis Oriental to serve Northern Mindanao.

The company has six company-owned beer production facilities, three of which are in Luzon and three in Visayas and Mindanao, while two are under construction.

For the spirits facilities, the company has six company owned facilities, four of which are in Luzon and two in Visayas and Mindanao.

Capex has been steadily growing the past three years: $82 million in 2015, $151 million in 2016 and $240 million in 2017. For the first half of 2018, capex stood at $98 million.