RFM posts solid 10% growth in Jan-Sept

MANILA, Philippines - Food and beverage company RFM Corp. posted solid growth in the first three quarters of the year despite setbacks experienced due to Manila’s port congestion.

RFM said its net income in the first nine months grew 10 percent to P578 million, driven primarily by higher revenues.

Sales revenues as of end-September likewise picked up 10 percent year-on-year to P7.84 billion.  

RFM president and chief executive officer Jose A. Concepcion III said the earnings growth continued to accelerate in the third quarter, with a faster growth seen in the ice cream, pasta, flour mixes, milk and bread businesses of the group.

Concepcion, however, believes that sales could have been higher if not for the bottlenecks in operations caused by the Manila port congestion, aggravated by the delivery trucks shortage due to the poorly-timed implementation of rules on franchised trucking services.

While the problem is easing with remedial efforts from government, Concepcion said there is still congestion and supply chain slowdowns that affect the entire industry, especially for deliveries of needed raw materials and packaging requirements, as well as deliveries of finished products to customers and distributors.