Universal Robina Corp., the biggest snack food maker, said Friday net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company dropped 23 percent in the first half to P6.2 billion from P8.05 billion in the same period last year when it sold idle assets.
URC said in a disclosure to the stock exchange first-half consolidated revenues grew 23 percent to P71.1 billion from a year ago, as all business units registered double-digit growth in sales.
First-half operating income climbed 2 percent to P7.4 billion despite material cost increases and the strengthening of the US dollar against the peso.
“We are very pleased to see the strong performance of the business, as we exit the first half of 2022 with record high sales. We anticipate sales momentum to be maintained as consumer demand continues to be resilient across the region,” URC president and chief executive Irwin Lee said.
“At the same time, we are closely watching demand signals given the inflationary environment. As we continue to navigate global headwinds, we remain confident that we will be able to continue increasing our absolute profits as we couple strong topline growth with our reinforced cost savings initiatives,” he said.
Sales of domestic and international branded consumer foods rose 27 percent to P50.7 billion. Domestic sales of branded food group reached P36.1 billion, up 19.7 percent from a year ago, driven by double-digit growth across major categories particularly snacks, ready-to-drink beverages and noodles.
International sales also jumped 43.4 percent to P15.6 billion from P10.89 billion a year earlier, on strong sales from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Sales in Vietnam grew by 15.1 percent, while Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia sales grew by 12.2 percent, 17.6 percent and 15.8 percent, respectively.
Revenues from agro-industrial and commodities divisions also saw an increase of 15 percent and ended the half at P9.4 billion.
All business units also registered double-digit growth on topline, driven by higher selling prices.