URC, Company of the Year

MANILA, Philippines - Gokongwei-owned Universal Robina Corp. (URC) has been conferred the “Company of the Year Award” by the Fund Managers Association of the Philippines (FMAP).

URC, one of the Philippines’ biggest and most diversified food firms, topped FMAP’s poll of banks and brokers.

FMAP said URC was voted “in line with our advocacy of promoting good corporate governance and minority shareholders protection among listed companies.”

The company’s stock price has been soaring in the past year, consistently outperforming the Philippine Stock Exchange Index.

URC shares have risen 35 percent from P125.60 on Aug 5 last year to P165.80 on Aug 5 this year.

Over three years, the stock has grown by a whopping 264 percent from P48 to P165.80.

The country’s benchmark index, on the other hand, has grown by just 11 percent from August last year.

Organized in April 1997, FMAP currently has 230 local equity and fixed income fund managers as members from 47 member institutions, handling a total of P4 trillion worth of funds.

URC has been steadily expanding its presence in the Asia-Pacific, as it seeks to grow its international business.

The company last month acquired New Zealand’s leading snack food manufacturer, Griffin Foods, for about NZ$700 million (P26 billion).

Auckland-based Griffin is New Zealand’s top snack food company, with its leading market share in the biscuits and wrapped snacks markets.

URC also recently invested $30 million (P1.3 billion) in a food factory in Myanmar to broaden its presence in South-east Asia.  It already has a foothold in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.

It also competes in Hong Kong and mainland China.