Concepcion Industrial sees sustained growth

MANILA, Philippines — Concepcion Industrial Corp. (CIC), a provider of consumer lifestyle and enterprise solutions, expects to continue growing faster than the market this year despite seasonal fluctuations in demand.

“We have an operating plan. We’d always try to grow faster than the market. Typically, the market will grow by high single-digit to teens. It depends on the season,” CIC chief executive officer Ariel Fermin said.

Last year, Fermin said  the company grew faster than the market both in air conditioning and refrigeration.

“So that’s the principle that we would always subscribe to. We just aim to grow faster than the market, be efficient in delivering the goods. So the principle leads us to a bottom line growth that’s faster than top line growth. So that’s pretty much the guidance that we give ourselves,” he said.

During the first quarter, CIC saw its earnings rise by 55 percent to P287.4 million, driven by robust sales growth, disciplined cost management and higher equity earnings from associate, Concepcion Midea Inc.

Net sales jumped by 27 percent year-on-year to P4.8 billion and including contributions from Concepcion Midea, total group sales grew by 30 percent to P6.5 billion.

“It’s fair to say that we are operating in a flourishing environment, the industry that we’re in and in the country that we’re in,” Fermin said.

“In every business, in every industry, in every country, there are tailwinds and headwinds. In our view, we continue to operate in a net gain from a tailwind standpoint. So a lot of things are going our way as businessmen, as Filipinos, as the ones who would like to make the country proud,” he said.

For the second quarter, Fermin said CIC sees that its performance would not be as strong as last year, but still stronger than what was recorded in the same period in 2023.

“From a product standpoint, air conditioners continue to serve us most, particularly for first time buyers, because, of course, it’s hot. We also see that refrigeration is very much in demand, specifically because a lot of people have gone into business, especially during summer. So you see a lot of selling of light commercial chillers, beverage chillers,” he said.

At present, CIC is upgrading its plant in Laguna to address the strong demand for no-frost refrigerators.