RFM income reached P682M in 2012

Food and beverage company RFM Corp. finished 2012 with an income of P682 million, a 34-percent increase from the previous year’s P508 million, on the back of an 11 percent sales growth to P11.1 billion.

With stronger cash flows from its business units and the proceeds from the recent sale of the meat business, RFM said it was paying in advance about P1 billion of its long term loans.

RFM president and CEO Jose A. Concepcion III credited the accelerated income growth to stronger sales of its higher margin businesses.

“The lower commodity input costs in 2012, such as for milk, wheat and sugar, were also important in keeping the cost levels down, as well as better yields due to scale economies as we reached higher volumes in our key brands, such as Selecta ice cream, and Fiesta spaghetti,” he said.

Concepcion mentioned the benefits of having a positive economic climate that further boosts consumer confidence and spending. This led to continued growth in practically all the company’s brands, led by Selecta ice cream, Fiesta pasta, White King cake and sauce mixes, Selecta milk and Sunkist juice, Concepcion said.

The growth momentum is expected to continue this year with a bullish macro environment, being a mid-term election year, and expectation of another rating upgrade for the country.

Fund managers and investors have also been bullish  on the country and several consumer-oriented companies like RFM.

“It will be a more exciting year for Selecta and Fiesta as we introduce more product innovations and build-up brand equity”, Concepcion said.

Concepcion also revealed the company’s intent to accelerate its growth organically and through possible acquisitions and strategic partnerships.