Century Pacific posts R2.5-B profit, down 4%

Century Pacific Food, Inc. (CNPF) reported that its profits saw a dip of 4 percent to R2.55 billion last year due primarily to higher raw material prices relative to their cyclical lows the year before.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said consolidated revenues grew by 22 percent year-on-year, hitting record high sales of R34.50 billion for the full-year 2017.

CNPF’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) remained largely unchanged year-on-year, at just over R3.95 billion, for the latest 12-month period.

“Amidst a more challenging input cost environment, our businesses faired relatively well. During this time, we’ve adopted a more conservative approach towards price increases in the face of inflationary pressures,” said CNPF Executive Chairman Christopher Po.

He added that, “this has helped further solidify our market shares, increase sales volume, and puts us in a good position to benefit once raw material prices soften.”

CNPF said it saw robust top line growth across all business units throughout 2017. For the full-year, its branded business registered an 18 percent increase in sales to R24.90 billion, with all three units – Marine, Meat and Milk – posting doubledigit revenue growth.

Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) tuna and coconut product sales likewise surged by 34 percent to R9.60 billion, as the tuna OEM segment benefited from increased export activity and higher average selling prices year-on-year.

“We are happy to note the sustained demand for our products across all segments. Our tuna OEM business performed well in 2017 owing primarily to the recovery of the global tuna market. OEM coconut also achieved key product diversification milestones during the year,” said Po.

He noted that, “for our branded segments, we saw consistent revenue expansion in core units and an increased presence in emerging categories.”

In terms of profitability, CNPF faced some challenges with gross profit down slightly to R8.52 billion. Operating income was down 5 percent to R3.43 billion.

“Though headwinds coming from cost pressures are likely to remain into the early part of 2018, we have already seen softening in the prices of raw materials and look forward to an improvement in margins beginning middle of this year,” said Po.