Vitarich opens Davao warehouse

MANILA, Philippines — Listed poultry and feed manufacturer Vitarich Corp. has opened its largest warehouse in Davao City as it seeks to expand further in Mindanao. 

Within the company’s feed mill complex in Panacan, Davao City, the new facility comprises 6,000 square meters for storage and 3,000 square meters for loading, unloading and parking. 

It can store approximately 6,600 metric tons of raw materials and finished goods, which expands the inventory capacity for Mindanao by 47 percent to 11,900 metric tons, Vitarich said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday. 

“This warehouse is a necessary investment which we believe will set us up for further growth as we strengthen our presence in Mindanao and serve the growing demand,” Vitarich president and CEO Rocco Sarmiento said. 

“With increased capacity, we can ship in main commodities in bulk to manage our risks related to raw materials and ensure that we continue to scale up and support food security at all times,” he said. 

As of end-September, Mindanao accounted for P3.4 billion or 40 percent of the company’s total revenues,  with the feeds segment growing at a compound annual  rate of 15 percent from 2016 to 2021. 

In November, the company announced that it successfully renewed its ISO 22000:2018 food safety management system certification for its feed mills, including the plant in Davao City. 

The Davao warehouse is among the newest additions to the company’s growing list of facility expansions and upgrades over the past few years.  

Among these improvements were a modernized dressing plant and laboratory and equipment in Marilao, Bulacan, enhancements to the management systems for supply chain, inventory, and information technology, and other investments in technologies and capabilities across the company to enable end-to-end processes. 

 Vitarich recorded its highest quarterly and nine-month revenue at end-September despite macroeconomic uncertainties.  

In the third quarter, revenues increased by 17 percent to  a record P3.2 billion.This allowed the company to register a P5.9 million net income during the quarter, reversing the P96.47 million loss a year earlier.  

For the nine-month period, revenues grew 19 percent to a record P8.7 billion are poised to surpass the historical high of P9.7 billion set last year.  

Despite the strong revenue performance, net income from January to September decreased by 15 percent from P180.5 million to P153.5 million. 

Increases in fuel, energy, and labor costs added to cost pressures, impacting cost of goods as well as operating expenses, which rose by 30 percent.