Appliance maker Concepcion Industrial Corp. said first-quarter net income grew 19.3 percent to P218.5 million from P182.4 million a year ago, on strong sales across businesses.
CIC said in a disclosure to the stock exchange consolidated net sales jumped 15 percent to P3.1 billion in the first quarter, with all segments showing robust growth despite demand softness in the market.
“CIC delivered strong top-line and bottom-line performance through strong execution of new product introductions, programs at the trade level, and cost management despite the challenging environment,” CIC president Raul Joseph Concepcion said.
“The first three months of the year was marked by slower market growth compared to last year, cost challenges from commodity and raw material price increases, weaker peso and aggressive competition but we were well prepared for it,” he said.
The appliance maker said the strong first-quarter sales was driven by a 14-percent growth in the consumer lifestyle solution segment and a 17-percent increase in the building and industrial solutions.
CIC said the demand for inverter units and strong commercial order growth continued to push the momentum in the runup to the summer season.
Cost of sales and services also rose 12.3 percent to P2 billion on higher commodity prices and depreciation of the peso against the dollar.
CIC chief finance and information officer Victoria Betita said the company was cautious at this time as it saw the first-quarter market softness continuing through the first half.
“We, however, remain optimistic about our growth prospects in the medium to long term. As such, we will continue to invest in systems and capacity throughout the next two years while ensuring productivity in our day-to-day operations,” Betita said.