SAN MIGUEL Corp. (SMC) on Thursday reported a net income of P17.2 billion for the January-to-March period of the year, “further strengthening its recovery from the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.”
Its recorded profits were 15 times higher than the P1.1-billion income generated in the first quarter of 2020. The company said nearly all of its business segments finished the period strong.
“We’re encouraged by these improvements, as they reflect that our businesses are definitely headed towards full recovery,” Ramon S. Ang, president and chief operating officer of SMC, said in a statement.
First-quarter consolidated revenues inched down by six percent to P201.2 billion from P214.07 billion year on year as pandemic restrictions continued to affect businesses of Petron Corp., San Miguel Brewery, Inc. (SMB), and SMC Infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the company’s consolidated operating income soared by 175% to P32.2 billion from last year’s P11.73 billion due to lower raw material costs and cost-cutting measures implemented.
SMC’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) posted a 52% growth to P41.02 billion from the P26.97-billion seen in the first quarter of last year.
San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc. (SMFB) saw its profits grow by 66% during the period to P9.68 billion from P5.82 billion year on year, while consolidated revenues bumped up by 11% to P76.36 billion from P69.02 billion.
“This was attributable to sustained all-time high volumes from the spirits division and higher sales from the food and beer divisions,” the company said.
SMFB’s operating income reached P12.57 billion, 45% higher than the P8.64 billion seen in the first three months of 2020.
Meanwhile, SMFB brewery division SMB’s income grew by 45% to P5.45 billion from P3.77 billion during the quarter. Operating income improved by 25% to P6.75 billion from P5.38 billion.
Consolidated revenues of SMB inched up by two percent from last year’s sales to P28.85 billion from P28.40 billion.
“[However,] consolidated volumes, which continue to be affected by various quarantine restrictions and liquor bans in the domestic operations, ended at 51.5 million cases, down by 11%,” the company said.
Ginebra San Miguel, Inc., another SMFB division, finished the quarter with a 120%-growth in net income to P1.04-billion from P474 million in the same period last year. Sales grew by 52% to P11.34 billion, while its operating income went up by 88% to P1.29 billion.
“The boost in performance was brought about by a combination of strong consumption, wider distribution, better selling prices, and lower alcohol cost,” SMC said.
San Miguel Foods saw an increase in its network of community resellers, and new products in the seafood and plant-based segment leading to net income growth of 107% to P3.39 billion from last year’s P1.64 billion.
Operating income for San Miguel Foods went up by 75% to P4.53 billion from P2.59 billion, while revenues went up by nine percent to P36.18 billion from P33.16 billion.
“Revenues from the protein, animal nutrition & health, and the prepared & packaged segments increased by 11%, 13%, and 6%, respectively,” the company said without disclosing specific figures.
The SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. saw its profits go up by 141% to P7.78 billion from last year’s P3.22 billion, sales meanwhile went down by three percent to P27.37 billion from P28.3 billion.
“This was mainly due to continuing quarantine restrictions and lower spot sales, which were mitigated by higher average realization prices,” SMC said.
Meanwhile, Petron finished the quarter with a profit of P1.73 billion, a reversal of its P4.87-billion loss in the same period last year. Consolidated revenues went down by 20% to P83.31 billion from P104.62 billion.
“While sales volumes continue to improve, the slowdown in demand due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, is still evident in [first-quarter] volumes of 19.4 million barrels, 21% lower than the 24.7 million barrels sold in the same period in 2020,” the company said.
SMC Infrastructure’s net sales went down by seven percent during the first three months of the year to finish at P4.33 billion compared with last year’s P4.66 billion, while the segment’s operating income declined by 33% to P1.18 billion from P1.77 billion.
“Despite the challenges ahead, we’re determined to sustain our performance and continue taking on meaningful projects and investments that will help our economy recover,” Mr. Ang said.
Shares of San Miguel at the stock exchange on Thursday improved by 0.26% or P0.30 to close at P114.80 each. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte
