UNIVERSAL Robina Corp. (URC), the food group of the Gokongwei family, said its income fell by 4.2 percent during the first three months of the year to P3.44 billion, after the company was affected by the recall of some of its C2 products in Vietnam last year.
It said net sales reached P30.68 billion for the first three months of the calendar year, a growth of 7.6 percent, driven by branded consumer foods in Thailand; Griffin’s, Sugar and Renewables division; and incremental sales of the recently acquired company, Snack Brands Australia.
Branded foods in the Philippines, including packaging division and branded international, grew by 2.6 percent and 16.1 percent, respectively. Sales of nonbranded consumer foods group, which is composed of agro-industrial group and commodity foods group, increased by 8 percent, with both groups growing at the same rate.
URC’s operating income registered at P4.03 billion, a 5.2-percent decline due to lower contribution of branded foods in Vietnam as a result of the recall issue last year of its homegrown beverage brand of C2 iced tea, and lower margins.
The unit faced some challenges in maintaining profitability given the significant input cost inflation, volatile forex, higher distribution costs and higher investments in advertising and promotions.
URC was in a net debt position of P29.809 billion with a financial-gearing ratio of 0.57 due to the long-term debt used for the acquisition of Snack brands.
“Major cash outflows included capital expenditures of P1.48 billion, spent mostly on capacity expansions for BCF and dividend payments amounting to P7.04 billion,” the company said.