San Miguel Food and Beverage 9-month profit up 9%

Conglomerate San Miguel Corp.’s flagship food and drinks business saw profits climb 9 percent to P26.3 billion in the first nine months of the year.

San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. said in a statement revenues were also up 18 percent to more than P261 billion.

This was due to sales volume growth and price increases that were implemented amid the soaring cost of raw materials.

The company said beer sales also gained momentum “following the lifting of lockdown restrictions and the reopening of the economy resulting from the surge in COVID-19 Omicron variant in January.”

Similarly, beer’s international operations registered double-digit volume improvements, notably in Thailand and Indonesia.

The beer business reported consolidated revenues of P99 billion, up 21 percent from last year, the company said.

“Our solid performance and strong fundamentals today are a reflection of the investments we made over the years, as well as our focus on execution to drive growth and profitability,” said Ramon S. Ang, president and CEO of San Miguel Food and Beverage.

The company’s hard liquor arm, Ginebra San Miguel Inc., also grew revenues by 12 percent to P34.5 billion while the food business sustained gains with total revenues of P128 billion, up 18 percent.

“Almost all food businesses delivered double-digit growth, including its prepared and packaged food segment,” San Miguel Food and Beverage noted.