Century Pacific Food, Inc. on Wednesday said its P700-million coconut facility expansion in Mindanao is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of the year.
“This much needed expansion allows us to fully serve the needs of our key partners and consumers, both locally and globally. Investing in our facilities expansion is key to support our growth for both the branded and the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) businesses in 2022 and years to come,” Vice-President and General Manager Noel M. Tempongko said in a statement.
The expansion will increase the plant’s capacity by 50%.
In 2020, Century Pacific signed the extension and expansion of long-term contracts with Malaysia’s Linaco Group and All Market, Inc.’s coconut water brand Vita Coco.
The Linaco Group is a Malaysian-based coconut producer that offers a range of high-value products sold in major retail outlets domestically and internationally. It has a network in over 40 countries, including China, Hong Kong and Australia, and across Europe and Middle East.
Century Pacific is one of the largest and long-time manufacturers of Vita Coco. The company has produced the brand’s coconut products, including packaged coconut water.
“The demand for coconut products has dramatically increased in recent years. More and more consumers are now aware of and actively manage their health and wellness every day, and they turn to coconut products, which are intrinsically healthy, to support their lifestyles,” Mr. Tempongko said.
In 2019, Century Pacific launched its own line of branded coconut products called Coco Mama, composing of packaged coconut cream, coconut oil, and coconut sugar.
In 2021, the food and beverage company completed the commissioning of a 5.2-megawatt solar photovoltaic plant for its tuna and coconut manufacturing facilities. The power plant serves around 15% of the requirements of the two divisions and harnesses over 60% of these from clean energy sources.
In 2020, Century Pacific’s coconut division launched a tripartite partnership with Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc.’s GCash and Generation Hope, Inc.’s nonprofit impact organization HOPE to plant a million coconut trees in Mindanao to be donated to small-holder coconut farmers.
In the third quarter of 2021, Century Pacific’s net income attributable to parent company grew 22.3% or P1.26 billion from P1.03 billion the year earlier.
From January to September last year, attributable net income rose P3.98 billion or 21.4% from P3.28 billion in 2020.
At the stock exchange on Tuesday, company shares dropped 80 centavos or P3.27% to close at P23.70 apiece. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
