MANILA, Philippines - Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is poised to post another double digit growth this year as it benefits from robust economic growth, a high-ranking company official said.
SMC chief finance officer Ferdinand K. Constantino said a double-digit uptick in revenues is a possibility this year.
“We are positive,†Constantino said, adding that consumer spending will climb this year partly due to the election season.
In the nine months to September last year, SMC’s consolidated sales revenues rose 29 percent to P509.2 billion on higher sales of SMC Global Power Corp. as well as favorable selling prices of its branded products.
SMC’s net earnings surged 61 percent to P19.2 billion, mainly due to foreign exchange gains and increased contributions from its power generation unit.
This year, SMC particularly expects better performance from its food unit San Miguel Pure Foods Co. Inc.
“Food is good. The brewery, we cannot say yet because of the [sin] tax,†Constantino said.
The government started implementing this year the sin tax bill that jacked up taxes for beer and cigarettes. Added rates are passed on to consumers.
From its core brewery and food business, SMC has expanded into power production (SMC Global), downstream oil sector (Petron Corp.), packaging (San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corp.), airline (Philippine Airlines) and several infrastructure projects like the Caticlan airport and Skyway.
Meanwhile, SMC will complete the exit of its two units, San Miguel Brewery and San Miguel Properties, from the Philippine Stock Exchange in the first half this year after failing to meet the 10 percent public ownership requirement.
SMB sought the delisting of its shares in the local bourse effective May 15.
“[SMPI’s delisting] should also be completed in the first half,†Constantino said.
Constantino said the company’s board of directors will finalize next month the tender offer price for SMPI shares. SMPI has a 0.06 percent public float.
The minimum public float rule was put in place by the PSE to provide a fair and efficient facility for price discovery and ensure that sufficient liquidity exists.