One-time gain lifts net profit of SMC to P57B Doris Dumlao Philippine Daily Inquirer
November 05, 2009
SAN MIGUEL CORP. YESTERDAY reported a 173-percent surge in its net profit for the first nine months mainly due to one-time gains from the earlier sale of a substantial stake in flagship San Miguel Brewery.
Net profit from January to September reached P57 billion compared with P20.9 billion a year ago. Before one-off items, net income still rose 6 percent year-on-year to P7.61 billion.
The company said in a statement that its financial results were “driven by the sustained growth of its beer and liquor units, along with higher productivity and continuing cost discipline across all businesses.”
Consolidated revenues grew 4 percent to P126.5 billion from a year ago while operating income also ended the period 12 percent higher to P13.1 billion.
Volume improvements combined with cost management and stable raw material prices boosted San Miguel Brewery’s performance after a difficult first three months.
SMB posted a net income of P7.2 billion in the first nine months of the year, up 2 percent from the same period of 2008. Revenues and operating income were both up 5 percent for the January-to-September period to P37 billion and P11.3 billion, respectively. With the San Miguel Octoberfest kickoff in September, SMB expects to further improve volumes and consumption for the rest of 2009.
Liquor unit Ginebra San Miguel also reported double-digit results with revenues at P14.1 billion, up 27 percent from the same period last year. Operating income rose 41 percent to P872 million.
