Alaska Milk net income surges 149% in 1st qtr

Alaska Milk Corp. (AMC) will pour in an additional cash dividend to its stockholders as the company’s robust financial performance continues to spill over in the first three months of the year.

During its annual stockholders’ meeting held last Tuesday, AMC said its board of directors approved the grant of a special 25-centavo cash dividend on top of the regular five-centavo cash yield per share, bringing the total cash dividend to 30 centavos per share.

AMC said over the last three years, it has paid out cash dividends averaging 14 percent annually, the highest by far in the local stock market at present. It is scheduled to grant the dividend on a quarterly basis beginning June 30, 2003 up to March 30, 2004 on four equal installments of 7.5 centavos each.

Wilfred Uytengsu, AMC president and chief operating officer, said the company’s net income in the first three months of 2003 rose 149 percent to P147 million, even as revenues grew by only eight percent to P976 million.

Operating income, however, went up 206 percent to P187 million with operating margin hitting a five-year high of 19.2 percent.

In the past year, Uytengsu said AMC’s income increased by 132 percent to P439 million or 11 percent of net sales as sales volume across all product lines posted strong growth with consumer demand for milk products slowly recovering from a sluggish pace.

Improved sales of powdered milk and UHT milk products underpinned revenue growth during the period as the company improved its distribution across all channels.

Operating margins increased significantly as a result of lower skimmed milk powder prices, putting operating income at P544 million, tripled the previous year’s level of P147 million.

AMC launched a string of new products and packaging innovations since last year to cater to the increasingly discriminating taste of consumers. Among its new products include Alaska Evaporada, an evaporated creamer; Alaska Hi-Cal, a 100-percent fat-free powdered milk with colostrum; and Alaska Evaporated and Sweetened Condensed Filled Milk in Easy Pour Tetra Packs.