RFM profit rose 18% in 1st quarter

RFM Corp. grew its first quarter net profit by 18 percent year-on-year to P153.7 million as margins improved across all core businesses with the softening of input costs.

Three-month sales revenues, however, fell by 8 percent to P2.2 billion primarily due to the sale of its meat business to the Century Tuna canning group late last year, the food and beverage company said in a statement Tuesday.

The first quarter net profit was ahead of RFM’s full-year bottomline goal, the company said.

“The lower commodity input costs this year, such as for sugar and wheat, were important in keeping the cost levels down,” said RFM president Jose Concepcion III, who also cited better yields due to economies of scale as seen in the high levels of production of Selecta ice cream and Fiesta pasta products.

Citing stronger cash flows from its business units and the proceeds from the sale of its meat business, RFM last January settled P1.1 billion worth of long-term loans ahead of maturity. The payment allowed the company to bring down its debt ratio to an all-time low.

Also, RFM declared a cash dividend of 3.2-centavos per share, representing partial declaration of 30 percent of recurring net income for 2012, in accordance with its policy. RFM ended last year with a net income of P682 million, up by 34 percent from that of the previous year.