Ice cream, pasta boost RFM income in Q1

FOOD and beverage firm RFM Corp. grew its first quarter net profit by 20 percent year-on-year to P216 million, boosted by the double-digit expansion of its consumer food segment including its ice cream and pasta businesses.

This was also in line with RFM’s goal to grow its full year net income by 20 percent to reach P1.1 billion.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, RFM reported sales revenues in the first three months grew by 2 percent year-on-year to P2.6 billion.

RFM president and CEO Jose Concepcion III said sales of its consumer group segment alone, which includes the ice cream and pasta units, grew 16 percent.

The joint venture with Unilever, called Unilever Selecta Ice Cream Inc., accelerated growth, which RFM attributed to “new product innovations, excellent value propositions, and effective marketing campaigns.” RFM said its ice cream business also expanded due to wider distribution reach and increased consumption frequency.

The joint venture now accounts for nearly a third or the single biggest component of RFM’s total business.

“Moreover, the continued growth in the pasta group further improved economies of scale, as warehousing and logistics operations got rationalized. These factors, coupled with better input costs, significantly improved the group’s profitability,” Concepcion said.

Stronger consumption spending on the back of an election year is seen to further boost the company’s operations. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla