San Miguel F&B reports higher H1 sales, earnings

MANILA  -Industry giant San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. (SMFB) saw “steady” earnings during the first six months of the year as sales growth was tempered by inflationary pressures.

SMFB, owned by diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), ended the period with a net income of P18.8 billion while total revenues expanded by 7 percent to P184.6 billion versus the first semester of 2022.

The company makes Pure Foods hotdogs, San Miguel Beer and sprits under Ginebra San Miguel.

“As uncertainties and risks to the economic environment remain, we will continue to take the necessary actions to mitigate the impacts on each of our businesses, including leveraging on each of our strengths to improve overall performance,” Ramon Ang, president and CEO of SMFB and SMC, said in a statement on Thursday.

“We will continue to invest in building our brands and strengthening our portfolio in order to position SMFB for long-term sustainable growth,” he added.

Higher volumes, cost

The company said sales grew from January to June on higher volumes and price increases amid an uptick in raw materials and logistics costs and an increase in excise taxes.

The company’s food division maintained sales revenues at P85.1 billion as demand stayed resilient from its core customer base.

Ginebra’s profits surged 64 percent to P4.1 billion as gross profit went up by 2 percent. Sales climbed 10 percent to P25.4 billion during the first six months of the year while volume grew 1 percent to 22.2 million cases.

Ginebra strategy

“Through well thought-out strategies and campaigns, [Ginebra] has continued to stay on top of its market, and has become a reliable performer and contributor to total San Miguel Group performance,” Ang said.

“With the initiatives it has launched, we’re looking to further build on its momentum and continue performing well for the rest of the year,” he added.

Beer arm San Miguel Brewery Inc. saw net income jump 26 percent to P13.5 billion while revenues were up 14 percent to P74.1 billion.

Domestic beer volumes were up 9 percent while international operations posted a 16 percent increase in sales volume from its exports business and Hong Kong and Thailand operations.