CANNED-FOOD maker Century Pacific Food Inc. said its profits fell 4 percent to P2.55 billion, from the previous year’s P2.65 billon, on higher raw-material prices.
The maker of Century tuna and Argentina corned beef said its revenues rise 22 percent to P34.5 billion, a record high for the company, from the previous year’s P28.55 billion.
“Amid a more challenging input-cost environment, our businesses faired relatively well. During this time, we’ve adopted a more conservative approach toward price increases in the face of inflationary pressures. This has helped further solidify our market shares, increase sales volume, and put us in a good position to benefit once raw material prices soften,” said Christopher Po, the company’s executive chairman.
The company saw topline growth across all business units throughout 2017, he added.
For the full year, its branded business registered an 18-percent increase in sales to P24.9 billion, with all three units of marine, meat and milk posting a double-digit revenue growth.
Sales of the original equipment manufacturer products—or those brands the company does not own but supply them with products—surged by 34 percent to P9.6 billion. The tuna OEM segment benefited from increased export activity and higher-average selling prices year-on-year, it said.
“We are happy to note the sustained demand for our products across all segments. Our tuna OEM business performed well in 2017, owing primarily to the recovery of the global tuna market. OEM coconut also achieved key product-diversification milestones during the year. For our branded segments, we saw consistent revenue expansion in core units and an increased presence in emerging categories,” Po said.
Gross profit also went down to P8.52 billion, while operating income was down 5 percent to P3.43 billion, the company said.
“Though headwinds coming from cost pressures are likely to remain into the early part of 2018, we have already seen softening in the prices of raw materials and look forward to an improvement in margins beginning middle of this year. Meanwhile, we are focused on keeping expenses low and ensuring that our buoyant topline growth continues,” Po said.
“The company’s overall resilience during this period is attributable to a diversified product base, robust sales, efficient operations, and a management team committed to delivering long-term earnings growth. All these have allowed us to achieve a compounded annual net-income growth rate of 17 percent since 2014, higher than our existing targets of 10 percent to 15 percent,” he said.