Bonds get top rating

is extremely strong. PhilRatings said SMB got the highest rating because of its sustained track record of generating a significant amount of cash from operations, relative to debt servicing and other capital expenditure requirements.

Also considered was SMB’s sustained financial flexibility and adequate capitalization; strong market position domestically, given well-received products, both old and new, with a long history of sustaining significant competitive advantages; and its experienced management and production team, with technical support from Kirin Holdings.

SMB is the leader in the Philippine beer industry and has six production facilities in the Philippines. It also operates one brewery each in Hong kong, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, and two breweries in China.

The company has been able to maintain its strong profit performance in 2013 to 2014, with net income increasing by 7.9 percent from 12.52 billion to 13.52 billion and net profit margin growing from 16.7 percent to 17.1 percent.

Correspondingly, SMB’s net cash generated from operations increased from 13.67 billion to 15.46 billion. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) interest coverage ratio was high at 9.21x.

The company’s debt to equity ratio also improved from 1.36x to 0.98x.

“These affirm the company’s strong profit performance and good debt servicing capability,” noted PhilRatings.