Pepsi sees sustained growth momentum

MANILA, Philippines — Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. (PCPPI), manufacturer of PepsiCo beverages in the country, expects to sustain its growth momentum this year despite increasing commodity prices.

The company had a strong start to 2022, driven by its carbonated and non-carbonated beverages.

PCPPI also announced that it was bringing back the berry-flavored Pepsi Blue to stores this year.

During its recent annual stockholders’ meeting, PCPPI president Frederick Ong said the company registered P32.8 billion in revenue and P3 billion in EBITDA or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization in 2021.

The company’s 2021 performance was a reflection of how the PCPPI faced the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ong said.

PCPPI adapted and faced the headwinds and came out stronger, he said.

For the first quarter of the year, Ong said volume already surpassed the total sales of 2021 and 2019 pre-pandemic level.

The company also embarked on improving efficiency in its returnable glass bottles (RGB) and PET (also called polyethylene terephthalate) lines.

“PCPPI is committed to drive efficient, quality, and safe operations. We are moving forward with our strategic investment to expand our carbonated softdrinks (CSD) PET lines,” said Ong.

The company’s newest Southern Tagalog Regional Office (STRO) CSD-PET line is now at 92 percent performance. This line became operational in February 2021 in response to the growing PET market.

PCPPI is also working on the next facility that will be capable of producing more PET to serve this growing segment of the market.

“We look forward to reaping the benefits of our transformation journey this 2022. In collaboration with Lotte and PepsiCo, we will further work towards achieving our mid- and long-term profitable growth and ultimately realizing our vision to be the leading beverage company in the country,” Ong said.

PCPPI’s principal stockholders are Lotte Corp., Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co. Ltd., and Quaker Global Investments B.V.

The company manufactures and sells well-known beverage brands: Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, 7-Up, Mirinda, Mug, Gatorade, Tropicana, Lipton, Sting, Premier, Milkis and Aquafina.