SMC BEATS PREPANDEMIC SALES AT P 1.1T IN 9 MONTHS OF 2022

Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) beat prepandemic sales in the first nine months of the year as revenues jumped over 70 percent to P1.1 trillion.

The food, drinks, power and infrastructure firm said major businesses delivered strong growth from January to September even as volatile foreign exchange movements weighed on profits.

“The continuing increase in demand for our products and services has been very encouraging despite the challenging businesses environment. This inspires us to continue with our efforts and to remain focused on achieving full recovery.” SMC president and CEO Ramon Ang said in a statement on Monday.

SMC’s income from operations rose 24 percent to P108.5 billion during the nine-month period. This was driven by Petron Corp., food, beverages, packaging and infrastructure.

The conglomerate also underscored efforts to keep costs in check amid rising commodity prices and other raw materials.

Core profits rose 26 percent to P43.5 billion while consolidated net income fell 62 percent to P12.9 billion given the the impact of unrealized foreign exchange losses.

Oil refining giant Petron sustained gains in the first nine months as profits jumped 64 percent to P8.2 billion while revenues more than doubled to P631.1 billion.

At the same time, San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc.’s net income expanded by 9 percent to P26.3 billion while revenue rose 18 percent to P261.5 billion.

The segment’s growth was driven by “strong volume growth and better selling prices across the beer, spirits and food divisions,” according to SMC.

For example, flagship beer unit San Miguel Brewery Inc. recorded revenues of P99 billion, up 21 percent, as volume grew 11 percent to 164.2 million cases.

SMC’s infrastructure portfolio includes toll roads such as the Skyway, South Luzon Expressway and Tarlac Pangasinan La Union Expressway.