Century Pacific nets P438M in Q1, up 37%

LEADING local canned food manufacturer Century Pacific Food Inc. grew its first quarter net profit by 37 percent year-on-year to P438 million on robust demand for branded food products.

Consolidated revenues grew by 16 percent year-on-year to P5.24 billion in the first three months. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, Century said that strengthened brand visibility and positioning during the period had boosted demand for branded products.

Gross profit margin for the quarter remained at 26 percent which was attributed by the company to stable cost of sales, in turn referring to raw and packaging materials, manufacturing costs and direct labor costs.

Consolidated operating income reached P615 million, representing an operating margin of 11.4 percent. Net income margin stood at 8 percent, which was attributed to higher gross profits and lower financing costs.

The company said it remained debt free, with zero interest bearing debt as of end March 2015.

The Po family-led food group, which trades on the PSE under the ticker CNPF, processes seafood such as tuna, sardine and other fish and seafood-based products as well as meat products like corned beef and meatloaf. It likewise has dairy and mixes segment, comprising canned milk, powdered milk and other dairy products as well as coffee mixes and sinigang mix. It also produces private label canned, pouched and frozen tuna products for export.

Among the company’s popular brands are Century Tuna, 555, Blue Bay, Argentina, Swift, Angel and Birch Tree.