Strong sales lift Pepsi income

Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. saw earnings growth for full-year 2016, an election year, despite the increasing cost of raw materials.

Pepsi Philippines said in a statement Monday that net income last year hit P900 million, up 5 percent year-on-year. During the fourth quarter, a traditionally strong period for consumer companies, profit rose 11 percent, it added.

Pepsi Philippines is known for its flagship cola brands Pepsi Cola and 7-Up and non-carbonated drinks Gatorade and Tropicana. It also manufactures popular snacks under the Lays and Cheetos brands.

In its statement, the firm said its 2016 bottom line was propped up by strong sales, which jumped 11 percent to P35.8 billion. Fourth quarter 2016 sales rose 8 percent to P9.1 billion.

“Our belief in the Philippine market to deliver another year of growth in 2017 remains high as we gear up with new product ideas and greater distribution initiatives for all Filipinos,” Pepsi Philippines president Samudra Bhattacharya said.

The company said its 2016 gross profit stood at P6.9 billion, up 8 percent. Gross profit for the fourth quarter contributed P1.7 billion, which was 15 percent above the same period in 2015.

It added that full-year cost of goods sold rose 12 percent, driven primarily by the sharp increase in the cost of sugar, a key input. Higher productivity, however, helped to partially mitigate the effects of that price hike, the company said. —MIGUEL R. CAMUS