Emperador posts P5.8-B net income

MANILA, Philippines - Emperador Distillers Inc., the hard liquor unit of property tycoon Andrew Tan, posted a net income of P5.8 billion last year, up 17.4 percent from the P5 billion recorded in 2012 on the back of higher revenues.

In a statement, Emperador said revenues grew 25.6 percent to P29.6 billion as volume rose seven percent despite the implementation of higher excise taxes beginning January 2013.

Emperador sold a total of 33 million cases last year to maintain its position as the world’s largest selling brandy brand.

With zero debt in its balance sheet, the company ended 2013 with a cash balance of P24 billion, including P12.5 billion raised from share sales in the third quarter.

“Emperador is a global company with strong balance sheet. We are very committed to give the best quality and best value to our customers. We will continue to invest in technology and facilities of the highest quality for world-class brandy production,” said Dina Inting, its chief financial officer.

The company has budgeted P4 billion for the expansion of its local bottling facility, which is currently running at 75- percent capacity.

Emperador’s goal is to double its sales in the next four years to account a third of the global brandy market.

The liquor firm invested a total of P5.8 billion in vineyards, distilleries and bodegas in Spain with the acquisition of Bodega San Bruno S.A. It now owns about 1,000 hectares of land, which the company plans to build into vineyards to support its brandy production in Spain.

Emperador is also training its sights on new markets such as Vietnam to boost its revenues.

Among the company’s products include Emperador Gold Light brandies and a line of flavored alcoholic beverages called The Bar. It recently introduced Emperador Deluxe, which is bottled in Spain.