Gokongwei-led Universal Robina Corp. grew its net profit attributable to parent equity holders for the quarter ending December 2011 by 79 percent year-on-year to P2.22 billion on higher treasury gains and international business as well as a turnaround in local operations.
Including minority interest, URC’s unaudited net income for the October to December period–the first quarter of its fiscal year 2012–surged to P2.36 billion from P1.34 billion a year ago, likewise aided by the increase in the market values of bond and equity holdings and foreign exchange gain from foreign currency denominated transactions.
URC reported that revenues for the quarter rose 8.7 percent year-on-year to P18.2 billion, fueled by a double-digit expansion in the sales of branded consumer foods, packaging and feeds businesses.
Net profit from URC International grew 46.5 percent to P583 million while local operations, previously battered by higher cost inputs, posted a net profit of P294 million for the quarter compared to a net loss of P85 million the year before.
On the other hand, market valuation gain on financial instruments amounted to P341 million for the quarter as against the P521 million in market loss recognized in the same period a year ago as the market values of bond and equity security investments recovered toward the end of last year. URC also booked a foreign exchange gain of P206 million for this period versus a P63-million foreign exchange loss reported in the same period last year due to currency translation adjustments.
In its regulatory filing, URC said domestic sales of its branded consumer foods group increased to P8.38 billion from P7.42 billion a year ago, largely driven by the strong performance of its beverage division, which expanded by 28 percent on account of growth in sales volume and price increases.
International sales also jumped 16.9 percent to P5.58 billion for the three-month period supported by significant increase in revenues from China, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.