San Miguel profit slips 91% in Q1
LISTED SAN MIGUEL CORP. SAW ITS fiRST-QUARTER net income drop by 91 percent to P1.1 billion From P12.8 billion yeAr-on-yeAr dUe to tHe coronAVirUS diSeASe 2019 (CoVid-19) pAndemic.
In a disclosure on Friday, the conglomerate said the growth it recorded in the first two months of the year was stunted by the pandemic, which forced most economic activities in the country and overseas to stop.
Consolidated revenues in the quarter also slid by 15 percent to P214.1 billion from P250.9 billion in the same period last year.
“This is an unprecedented crisis we are in and many countries all over the world continue to struggle to cope,” San Miguel President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon Ang said in the disclosure, referring to the pandemic.
“Like most big and small businesses in the Philippines, we are also affected, but we maintained out focus on cost reduction and cash preservation amid the Covid-19 crisis,” he added.
Food-and-drink arm San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. (SMFB) recorded a 9-percent decline in consolidated revenues to P69 billion in January to March from
P75.7 billion last year.
The drop was attributed to the slowdown in beer and spirits sales, which was caused by the liquor ban the government implemented after it put Metro Manila under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in mid-March. This was, however, offset by higher sales from the prepared and packaged food segment of its food division.
SMFB’s consolidated net income also plunged from P5.8 billion from P7.4 billion a year ago.
Another San Miguel unit, the San Miguel Packaging Group, saw its first-quarter performance also impacted by the ECQ.
Its net sales slipped by 4 percent to P8.5 billion from P8.8 billion on the back of reduced orders from the food and beverage sectors, while those from health and pharmaceutical posted steady volumes.
Power subsidiary SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. posted an 18-percent decline in first-quarter revenues to P28.3 billion, while off- take volumes slipped by 3 percent to 6,600 gigawatt hours.
San Miguel primarily attributed this to the deferment of the start of supply agreements and contract extensions.
The power firm’s net income shed 10 percent to P3.2 billion from P3.6 billion last year.
Oil company Petron Corp.’s revenues plunged by 16 percent to P104.6 billion in the first three months from P124.6 billion year-on-year. It also recorded a P4.9-billion net loss in the quarter.
San Miguel explained that Petron’s demand for fuel was low in the period, as mass transport was restricted during the ECQ. It noted that global oil prices also plunged in March because of a price war among the world’s top oil-producing countries.
Meanwhile, SMC Infrastructure’s operating toll roads registered a 15-percent decline in volume and its consolidated revenues fell by 27 percent to P4.7 billion in January to March.
“Right now, our priority is really to ensure the continuous and efficient delivery of our products and services for the people, strengthen and expand new programs we’ve initiated during this crisis that have worked for us, implement our plan to safely bring our workforce back and continue to help
the country manage the impact of this pandemic. Our economy and day-to-day lives depend on
how well we can all work together as one nation to fight Covid-19,” Ang said.
San Miguel shares increased by 10 centavos or 0.10 percent to close at P96 apiece on Friday.