URC profit down 22% in H1

MANILA, Philippines — Gokongwei-led Universal Robina Corp. (URC) reported a net income of P6.2 billion in the first half of the year, 22 percent lower than the P8 billion recorded in the same period last year.

In a statement, URC said sales rose by 23 percent to P71.1 billion.

URC said last year’s strong income was due to a one-time gain on the sale of idle assets.

Company president and CEO Irwin Lee said URC ontinues to keep a close watch on the inflationary environment.

“We are very pleased to see the strong performance of the business as we exit the first half of 2022 with record high sales. We anticipate sales momentum to be maintained as consumer demand continues to be resilient across the region.

At the same time, we are closely watching demand signals given the inflationary environment. As we continue to navigate global headwinds, we remain confident that we will be able to continue increasing our absolute profits as we couple strong topline growth with our reinforced cost savings initiatives.”

For the first half, the company’s strong sales momentum continued with all business units showing double-digit growth.

URC recorded a P7.4 billion in operating income for the first half, up two percent versus the same period last year.

In terms of business segments, sales of domestic and international branded consumer foods, excluding packaging, grew by 27 percent to P50.7 billion.

Agro-Industrial and commodities saw double-digit growth on topline, driven by higher selling prices. Sugar and renewables posted strong growth despite lower output caused by tighter cane supply in the country.

Sales at the agro-industrial and commodities increased by 15 percent versus last year to P19.4 billion. All business units saw double-digit growth on topline, driven by higher selling prices.

Sugar and renewables posted strong growth despite lower output caused by tighter cane supply in the country.

Growth at the agro-industrial group was driven by the pet foods business which continues to outperform and is set to hit all-time highs.