MANILA, Philippines – Universal Robina Corp. posted a net income of P12.2 billion in the nine months of fiscal year ending September 2016, reflecting a 26.4 percent growth on the back of foreign exchange gains.
Net sales rose 4.2 percent to P5.37 billion, driven by the branded consumer foods business (CFB) in the Philippines and in Indonesia as well as Griffin’s.
Sales of BCF excluding packaging increased 2.6 percent to P69.73 billion while BCF sales overseas were flat at P24.65 billion partly due to regulatory issues in Vietnam.
“On a positive note, most countries managed to grow sales in local currency terms. Indonesia was up 24.9 percent driven by snacks and chocolates. Thailand increased 1.7 percent as consumer confidence has started to recover in the country,” URC said in a statement.
Similarly, Malaysia grew 8.1 percent on double-digit growth in wafers and candies. Singapore was up 8.9 percent due to incremental sales from Griffin’s. New Zealand sales have also started to stabilize through improved pricing and margins, coupled with new product developments introduced into the market.
Sales of the non-BCF Group, meanwhile, reached P14.8 billion, up 12.8 percent driven by renewables and feeds.
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For the commodity foods group, sales expanded 23.4 percent to P7.97 billion.
On the other hand, the agro-industrial group’s sales grew at a slow pace of 2.6 percent due to the dismal performance of the farms division.
