Vitarich income quadruples to P260 million

MANILA, Philippines —  Vitarich Corp.’s cost-cutting strategy paid off in the nine months to September as its net income quadrupled to nearly P260 million, the company said in a statement.

The poultry and feed producer reported a net income of P286.334 million during the period, about 310 percent higher than the P69.694 million recorded in the same period last year, on the back of cost reduction measures that allowed it to slash its overall expenses faster than the drop in its revenues.

Vitarich said while its gross revenues dipped by four percent, settling at P9.218 billion versus last year’s P9.629 billion, this was offset by a faster drop in its total expenses during the nine-month period.

The company reported that its total expenses reached P8.863 billion, about seven percent lower than the P9.526 billion recorded a year ago.

“We delivered our strongest nine-month results, demonstrating how our strategy execution is improving the profitability and financial position of the company,” said Rocco Sarmiento, CEO of Vitarich, yesterday.

“We continued to invest for the long-term in our brand building capabilities, facilities and digital initiatives. We focused on modern trade and hotel, restaurant and institutional customers to drive sustainable top- and bottom-line growth,” Sarmiento added.

Vitarich said revenues of its foods segment rose by 3.1 percent year-on-year to P5.44 billion, driven by a 5.6 percent hike in its volume sales due to rising demand in the Visayas region.

Meanwhile, the firm’s feeds segment saw a 16.6 percent decline in its revenues, falling to P3.332 billion as demand during the period remained tepid as domestic hog and poultry production continued to struggle amid spread of diseases and low farmgate prices.

Vitarich’s farms segment recorded P446.5 million in revenues, about 25.8 percent higher than last year’s figures, driven by fair value adjustment on its biological assets.