Balai net income rises in 1st semester
Balai ni Fruitas Inc. reported a net income of P15 million in the first half of the year, over 18 times the P800,000 posted in the same period a year ago, driven by the recovery of the economy and the expansion of its store network.
Revenue more than doubled to P145 million from January to June.
Revenues for the second quarter alone jumped by nearly 40 percent to P84.5 million compared to first quarter revenues of P60.6 million.
Gross margin for the first half remained above 50 percent despite increasing raw material prices.
Balai ni Frutas president and CEO Lester Yu said the successful listing of the company last June would allow the company to further expand its store network and build new commissaries to have more efficient operations and leaner cost structure.
“The successful listing on the SME board of the PSE will allow us to expand faster. We envision Balai Pandesal to be present in major cities of the country and can be easily accessed by Filipinos. The 2022 first half performance is a testament of the ability of the company to face increasing raw material costs and still protect its margins,” Yu said.
The company is also open to potential acquisitions.
As of end-2021, Balai had 77 stores in its network. During the first of half of 2022, the company was able to open seven new stores, bringing the total store network to 84.
With the Balai Pandesal commissary expected to be functional within the third quarter, the company is on track to increase the number of Balai Pandesal, stores to 80 by the end of the year.
In addition to the community stores, Balai also introduced new store formats for Balai Pandesal, such as the first Balai Pandesal local bakery in Brgy. Krus na Ligas, and the first Balai Pandesal kiosk in Ayala Malls Cloverleaf in June.
Balai Pandesal also recently introduced a donut line and cake roll line to widen its offerings.