RFM expects to book P1.5-B profit for 2024

Food and beverage manufacturer RFM Corp. sees its full-year 2024 earnings hitting up to P1.5 billion on expectations that the sales of both its branded consumer and institutional businesses improved.

This entails a 15-percent climb from its 2023 net income of P1.3 billion.

The Concepcion family-led firm on Wednesday disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange that its revenues were likewise on track to reach P22 billion.

Strong consumer demand for its Fiesta and Royal pasta products boosted sales last year, on top of purchases from local government units for their Christmas basket giveaways, according to RFM CEO Jose Ma. Concepcion III.

As a result, RFM declared P200 million in cash dividends, or P0.05936 per share, payable on Feb. 18 for stockholders on record as of Jan. 22.

RFM’s products include ice cream, pasta, pasta sauce, flour and milk.

“RFM has no debts and has a strong balance sheet that enable our steady declaration of cash dividends,” Concepcion said.

Expansion mode

“We have also completed some big capex (capital expenditure) in 2024, like the new Silang, Cavite bakery plant and new Selecta milk lines, and will just be on the lookout for opportunities to grow our businesses,” he added.

In 1999, RFM entered into a joint venture with consumer goods giant Unilever Philippines to establish Unilever-RFM Ice Cream Inc. and boost the Selecta business.

This joint venture was expected to have sustained growth in 2024 due to “timely price adjustments to ensure affordability and healthy demand.”

RFM in 2024 declared a total of P1.3 billion in cash dividends, up by 53 percent on higher earnings and sales.

The company’s net income in the first nine months of 2024 jumped by 14 percent to P1.12 billion as its pasta and ice cream businesses drove growth.

Sales during the period reached P15 billion, up by 3 percent.

For 2025, Concepcion said economic expansion and increased employment could be “strong anchors of consumer spending.”

However, if geopolitical tensions in the Middle East persist, he warned that this could push inflation via higher oil prices, eventually affecting consumer demand.