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By Darwin G. Amojelar, Reporter
THE maker of the popular C2 tea drink and Jack
’n Jill snack foods has accelerated its capital expenditure this
year to finance the continued expansion of its branded consumer
products.
Universal Robina Corp. (URC), the food and
beverage unit of Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings Inc., said it
budgeted about P3.834 billon in capex for fiscal year 2008, higher
than last year’s P3 billion.
Of the total earmarked this year, P2.148 billion
will be allotted for continued expansion of the branded consumer
foods operations, primarily its multiproduct beverage line and
snacks production facilities in the Philippines, as well as snacks,
biscuits, candies and beverage production facilities in Thailand and
Vietnam.
About P737 million will be spent for the sugar
group, including mill and refinery expansion projects, while another
P704 million would be spent on the agro-industrial group consisting
of new layer houses for poultry, bulk handling facility for feeds
and increased sow level and uni-feeder installation for hogs.
For fiscal year ending September 2007, URC
posted a net income of P5.56 billion, 84.1 percent higher than in
the same period in 2006.
The company attributed the surge in profits to
the growth of its branded consumer foods business, which grew 6.7
percent to P28.37 billion, mainly driven by a 12.6-percent increase
in net sales of domestic operations, especially beverages and snack
foods.
The company said its beverage segment posted a
strong 49.7-percent growth mainly due to its tea and coffee drinks
while new products like Nature’s Harvest, Hidden Spring and Nestlé
Purelife helped push sales higher. Snack foods likewise recorded
sales growth of 8 percent due to a recovery in domestic consumption
and election spending.
The company’s international operation posted a
slight growth in net sales at 1 percent to $150 million but in peso
terms, they slipped by 7.6 percent due to the appreciation of the
peso against the dollar.
Sales from the firm’s agro-industrial segment
climbed by 11.2 percent to P5.65 billion mainly due to its animal
feeds business, which grew 19.3 percent to P2.637 billion on the
back of higher sales volume of feeds. Uno and Stargain hog feeds
expanded their market coverage as farm business grew 4.8 percent on
the back of a good performance of poultry, higher selling prices and
steady hog volumes.
The company’s commodity foods segment also
enjoyed a 5.6-percent increase in sales revenue to P3.7 billion as
its sugar business grew by 33.8 percent.
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