SMC Q1 operations surged on recovering economy

| PHOTO: San Miguel Corporation website

Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) said the reopening of the economy pushed up first quarter operating income by 25 percent to P40.1 billion, while its fuel subsidiary, Petron Corp., doubled earnings as oil prices rushed higher in the wake of Russia’s Ukraine invasion.

Led by billionaire and company president Ramon Ang, SMC ended the January to March period with consolidated revenues of P316.8 billion, up 57 percent.

It attributed gains to strong volume growth and increased selling prices despite the Omicron pandemic surge early in the year and volatile commodity costs.

“Overall, we are off to a good start this year, with volumes and revenues showing robust growth,” Ang said in a statement.

“Economic activity is returning to prepandemic levels, our workforce has been fully vaccinated and we have managed to keep the virus under control. With these, we are confident we can sustain our target levels of growth,” he added.

Recurring net income

SMC said recurring net income, which removes one-off items, rose 3 percent to P13.9 billion during the quarter.

Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization—a key measure of profitability—was also up 9 percent to P44.8 billion, the statement showed.

Petron was among its best performing subsidiaries after the company doubled first quarter profits to P3.6 billion because of higher demand and skyrocketing fuel prices after Russia invaded Ukraine. Petron revenues also jumped 107 percent to P172.3 billion during the same period.

San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc., which owns its beer, spirts and food businesses, recorded a first quarter net income of P9.2 billion, up 1 percent. Total revenues rose 9 percent to P83.1 billion.

“This was driven mainly by a combination of volume growth and better selling prices across multiple categories in its beer, spirits, and food divisions,” SMC said.

Power sales

SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. saw revenues reach P43 billion during the first quarter, up 57 percent.

This gains were due to higher electricity sales as demand for power increased. SMC Global Power is one of the country’s largest energy producers with about 4,714 megawatts of combined capacity by the end of 2021.

Its power assets include the 1,000-MW Sual coal plant in Pangasinan, the 1,200-MW Ilijan natural gas power plant in Batangas, and 345-MW San Roque hydroelectric facility In San Manuel, Pangasinan.

SMC’s infrastructure arm recorded a 44 percent increase in revenues to P6.2 billion during the first quarter of the year.

Its projects include the Metro Manila Skyway System, South Luzon Expressway, Tarlac Pangasinan La Union Expressway, Boracay Airport and the Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project.