Pepsi sees healthy income growth in ’12
Pepsi Cola Products Philippines Inc. expects a healthy increase in net income this year amid the lower price of sugar and the introduction of new product lines from the portfolio of its parent, South Korean company Lotte.
Further improving the company’s prospects are the increase in production capacity, with the completion of new bottling plants, and the expansion of its distribution network.
“Sugar prices have stabilized, even though they are still not down to 2009 lows,” Pepsi Cola president Partha Chakrabati said on Friday.
On the sidelines of the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting, he said that so far this year, the company has seen sales grow substantially over year-ago levels.
In the first quarter of the year, Pepsi Cola’s profit rose by over 600 percent to P225 million on higher sales volume and lower input costs. Pepsi Cola manufactures and sells global brands such as Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Seven Up, Mirinda, Gatorade and Tropicana.
Chakrabati said the growth in profit may normalize in later quarters this year, saying that the first quarter in 2011 was one of the slowest three-month periods in the company’s record.
Article continues after this advertisement“Now, we are poised to bring the business to the next level in 2012,” the company said in a statement.
Article continues after this advertisementIn a separate interview, Chakrabati said “it will be significantly better than last year.”
Chakrabati said Pepsi Cola would take advantage of this year’s improved business conditions, driven by the increase in government spending, with the introduction of several new brands from Lotte, one of South Korea’s largest beverage firms.
He said the company recently launched a new brand of “cream soda” and canned coffee into the Philippine market.
Fortunately, Chakrabati said Pepsi Cola and Lotte had very few products that competed with each other.
“There’s very little conflict between us in the market,” he said. “We will add more Lotte products to our line,” he said.
In 2011, Pepsi Cola’s profit fell to P289 million, lower by 38 percent than the year-before level.
