San Miguel Corp reports 76% fall in income for Q1 ‘09

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PHILIPPINES – San Miguel Corporation (SMC) had a dismal performance for Q1 2009, with net income dropping 76% to US$57.03 million (P2.7 billion) from last year’s US$232.36 million (P11 billion).

The food and beverage conglomerate’s profit decreased by 18% to US$70.9 million (P3.36 billion) from US$86.9 million (P4.12 billion) last year, excluding non-recurring items. Profit from continuing operations dropped 54% to US$54.04 million (P2.56 billion) over 2008’s US$116.73 million (P5.53 billion).

However, SMC’s consolidated revenues increased by 8% to US$884.36 million (P41.9 billion), while its operating income grew 11% year-on-year to US$90.54 million (P4.29 billion)

In a press statement, SMC’s president and COO Ramon Ang said, “The first quarter was very challenging for us but we delivered good results which only proves that the group was geared up to face the challenges head on.”

Sector performance
Robust demand for the SMC’s glass, plastic and PET businesses saw its packaging unit end Q1 2009 with a 64% increase in operating income to US$11.96 million (P567 million). This was despite a sluggish sales growth to US$105.63 million (P5.005 billion) this year over the US$104.66 million (P4.958 billion) achieved in 2008.

In spite of higher commodity prices, SMC’s food unit enjoyed an 11% sales increase to US$388.88 million (P18.428 billion), while operating income rose 12% to US$11.24 million (P533 million).

SMC’s domestic beer operations though suffered a 9% fall in sales volume, while sales from its international beer operations dropped 10% to US$56.6 million with losses widening 72% to US$1.48 million.

However, the conglomerate is confident that domestic beer sales will pick up in the coming months with higher volume from the upcoming fiesta season and the festivities attending the upcoming elections in Philippines.