Pepsi’s 9-mo profits up on strong PH sales

LISTED Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. said profit rose in the nine months through September as demand for its beverages remained strong.

Pepsi Philippines, whose beverages include the flagship Pepsi-Cola as well as 7Up, Gatorade and Tropicana, said net income during the nine-month period hit P706.35 million, up 14 percent. Its revenues during the period also rose 7.8 percent to P23.68 billion.

“Our year-to-date performance can be attributed to the company’s strong focus on driving productivity and building revenues in a very challenging operating environment,” Pepsi Philippines President Furqan Ahmed Syed.

“The quarter saw a sharp increase in sugar prices coupled with very challenging industry pricing. Despite that, we managed to grow our topline and bottomline for the quarter,” he added.

Cost of goods sold increased by 9 percent both for the quarter and nine-month period, driven by the volume growth, higher depreciation and higher price of sugar in the latter part of the third quarter, the company said.

Moreover, it posted a gross profit of P1.5 billion for the quarter and P4.9 billion for the nine-month period, an increase of 6.3 percent versus the same nine-month period last year.

Operating expenses decreased by 1.9 percent for the quarter and increased by 4.1 percent for the nine-month period over a year ago, notably growing slower than revenue.

Operating expenses expressed as a percentage of net sales were 0.8 percent lower than year-ago level for the nine-month period driven by cost management initiatives.

Pepsi Philippines said net income for the third quarter alone stood at P146 million, up 5.1 percent.

“Our net income margin has expanded by 18 basis points year-to-date. This is a fruitful outcome of the company’s drive to foster efficiency in our operations,” Syed said. Miguel R. Camus