Monde budgets P7.2B to boost bakery, biscuit production

Monde Nissin Corp. of billionaire Betty Ang will earmark P7.2 billion in capital expenditures (capex) this year mainly to expand its production plants and boost operations in its flagship segment.

Jesse Teo, Monde chief financial officer, last week said the capex would be funded by their “robust” operating cash flow.

According to Teo, 86 percent of the total, or P6.2 billion, would be dedicated to the company’s Asia-Pacific branded food and beverage (APAC BFB) unit, its largest income and revenue contributor.

He added they also booked for P1 billion a long-term lease for a property in Pampanga. Monde, the company behind Lucky Me! instant noodles and SkyFlakes crackers, currently has a production plant in Porac, Pampanga.

“There are also some projects we are working on that we cannot divulge at this point,” Teo told reporters. “A lot of it is in our bakery business. We need to catch up on capacity to serve the volumes that our customers are demanding.”

The food manufacturing giant in 2023 unveiled plans to expand its production plant in Davao region and beef up its bakery and biscuit business.

The P1.2-billion expansion plan is expected to boost the capacity of an existing manufacturing facility that has been supplying Davao with Lucky Me! instant noodles.

Additionally, it will include production of other brands such as Butter Coconut biscuits and Monde Mamon.

In 2023, Monde reported a P625-million net loss, an improvement from the P13-billion loss it disclosed in 2022, due to an impairment of assets in Quorn Food.

Monde said the noncash, nonoperating impairment of assets in Quorn, its meat alternative business, totaled P10.1 billion after tax.

The APAC BFB segment, meanwhile, grew its domestic sales by 12.6 percent to P65.9 billion. This helped lift Monde’s revenues by 8.43 percent to P80.17 billion. —MEG J. ADONIS INQ