Century Pacific Food profit up 9%

Po family-led Century Pacific Food Inc. (CNPF), one of the country’s leading food and beverage companies, improved its first semester net profit by 9 percent to P3 billion as branded seafood, meat and milk businesses all gained ground from last year.

For the second quarter, CNPF’s net profit grew nearly 8 percent, driven by the 20-percent jump in net revenues to P16.3 billion.

“We are grateful for the continued upbeat business results, despite turbulent operating conditions. Entering the second half of the year, we are seeing some respite as cost pressures begin to ease for some inputs like tuna, packaging and freight. We are still pursuing a mid-teens topline growth for the year,” CNPF executive chair Christopher Po said in a statement on Wednesday.

“That said, we remain cautiously optimistic and will continue to closely monitor the situation on the ground. Hopefully, we can engineer a soft landing for CNPF and end the year with decent business results.”

Consolidated revenues for the six-month period came in at P31.1 billion, up 15 percent.

CNPF cited the robust performance of its branded business, which grew by 18 percent in the first half and 19 percent in the second quarter from their year-ago levels. These brands primarily cater to the Philippine market.

In particular, CNPF reported a resurgence in the performance of its milk business.

Pyrus dela Cruz, vice president and general manager of CNPF’s milk division, said: “The environment has been tough for the milk category, but we’re grateful that our efforts translated to a year-on-year revenue growth of 23 percent in the first half. BirchTree’s market share increased from 22 percent to 24 percent during this time.

CNPF said that overall, consumers were continuing to prioritize “market leaders and value-for-money” offerings amid an an environment of fast-rising prices.