San Miguel Brewery posts 23% profit hike to P7 B

The flagship brewery arm of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. post-ed a net profit of P7 billion in the nine months ending September this year, up 22.8 percent from the same period a year ago, on the back of a six-percent growth in sales volume.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, San Miguel Brewery Inc. (SMB) said sales revenues expanded 10 percent to P35.2 billion while operating income jumped 22.5 percent to P10.8 billion on strong beer consumption and intensified marketing activities.

 “Results were driven by strong execution and strong consumption coming from increased visibility for flagship brand San Miguel Pale Pilsen during this year’s 120-day Oktoberfest celebration. Ads of key brands San Mig Light, Gold Eagle and Red Horse have also stimulated consumption. Now on its tenth year, Red Horse Muziklablan continues to strengthen the brands’ following among younger entry drinkers,” SMB said.

At the same time, SMB said its board of directors approved the declaration of a cash dividend of 15 centavos per share to stockholders on record as of Oct. 31. The cash dividends are payable on Nov. 12.

During the third quarter, SMB launched San Miguel Premium All-Malt Beer, a full-flavored beer with a smooth balanced bitterness. Plans are underway to expand the reach of this product outside Metro Manila due to its strong consumer acceptance.

SMB also recently introduced a special edition, San Miguel Octoberfest Brew.

San Miguel’s beer brands San Miguel Pale Pilsen, Red Horse, San Mig Light and Gold Eagle are among the top four brands in the country.

The company also offers popular brands such as Super Dry, Cerveza Negra, San Mig Strong Ice, Gold Eagle and Cali, the country’s only malt-based non-alcoholic drink.   

SMB, which contributes around 40 percent of the San Miguel group’s operating profit, is undertaking new programs to offer wider availability and ensure consumer satisfaction. To conserve financial resources, programs to reduce inventory and trade receivable levels were also implemented alongside other cost-saving programs.