RFM’s Q2 profit up 11%

Concepcion group-led RFM Corp. grew its second quarter net profit by 11.1 percent year-on-year to P399 million as the lockdown of key regions across the country boosted sales of milk, pasta, sauces and other essential goods consumed at home.

This brought RFM’s six-month net profit to P611 million, rising from 5 percent from the same period last year. First semester revenues grew by 2 percent year-on-year to P7.09 billion, bucking the contraction in the domestic economy and overall business activity since mid-March when Metro Manila and other key regions were under strict quarantine protocols.

“Consumer eating behavior during the lockdown has shifted food demand towards more nutritious food cooked at home,” RFM said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

RFM noted that its Selecta Fortified Milk, Fiesta and Royal pasta and sauces have benefited from the change in consumer behavior when most regions were locked down to arrest the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The company also reported a surge in demand for hotcake and other mixes of the White King line.

RFM’s pasta, milk, sauce and White King sales for the first half grew by 18 percent.

“The challenge during the lockdown was how to keep the production lines running to meet demand,” RFM said.

On the other hand, RFM reported a slowdown in ice cream sales during the lockdown period. Bread sales to fast food and industrial clients also turned sluggish but these have been quickly recovering with the lifting of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) on Metro Manila and other key regions.

For the second quarter alone, RFM’s group-wide revenues inched up by 1 percent to P3.87 billion.