SMFB grows income to P30.5 billion in 2018

MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. (SMFB) grew its net income by eight percent to P30.5 billion last year. 

This was on the back of a 14 percent rise in consolidated sales to P286.4 billion as the beer, food and liquor businesses posted strong growth.

SMFB president and chief executive officer  Ramon Ang said the company continues to perform strongly despite some challenges.

“Despite the high inflationary environment in the past year, we are pleased with the performance of our food and beverage businesses, which all delivered strong revenue growth. This is proof that our brands continue to resonate strongly with consumers,” Ang said.

San Miguel Brewery Inc., San Miguel Pure Foods and Ginebra San Miguel Inc. (GSMI) posted double-digit revenue growth.

San Miguel Brewery reported a 14 percent growth in consolidated revenues to P129.2 billion.This was driven by higher consumption of leading brands Red Horse and San Miguel Pale Pilsen, along with effective marketing campaigns and defense programs which further strengthened the equity of their brands.

Pure Foods also delivered higher consolidated revenues of P132.3 billion, up 13 percent. The portfolio of brands -- Magnolia, Purefoods, Tender Juicy, BMEG, Dari Creme, Star, and La Pacita -- performed well even as costs of raw materials went up, the company said.

“Growth was attributed to higher volume growth of its Protein, Prepared & Packaged Food, and Animal Nutrition & Health businesses. However, earnings were tempered by rising costs of major raw materials, start up costs from expansion projects, and the decline in poultry prices towards the end of the year,”  SMFB said.

Ginebra San Miguel, meanwhile, continued to enjoy strong volume growth for its brands including its Chinese wine brand, Vino Kulafu, which posted healthy volume growth in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.