CENTURY Pacific Food, Inc. (CNPF) recorded a 24% increase in its first-quarter net income to P1.28 billion, it said on Wednesday, citing the re-opening of foreign markets for boosting its export business.
The listed food company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday that its consolidated revenues went up 11% to P13.39 billion, from P12.11 billion recorded in 2020, after its branded business had a 4% increase in demand.
“We are pleased by our double-digit growth rate this quarter considering last year’s high-base and the various macroeconomic challenges. The essentials and staples nature of our portfolio has largely kept us resilient, and the faster reopening in other countries has benefited our export businesses quite nicely,” CNPF Chief Financial Officer Richard S. Manapat said in the disclosure.
CNPF said that its operating expenses increased 20% to P2.05 billion from P1.71 billion year on year, caused by increased support for its new products and on the procurement of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines and expenses related to the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the company said it is in the middle of expanding its coconut facility by 50% and its meat facility by 20%, with additional expansions planned in the future.
It added that capacity investments are partly supported by profits coming from lower tax rates due to the implementation of Republic Act No. 11534 or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) law.
Mr. Manapat said the company is looking forward to the increased capacity, particularly in coconut, which will be online in the third quarter of the year.
“Not only will this support our growth, but also create more than 500 quality manufacturing jobs for our countrymen. We are also excited about our potential entry into other new and emerging categories as we continue to manage our pipeline of innovations,” Mr. Manapat said.
Over the previous two years, CNPF introduced new products such as its Coco Mama Fresh Gata, Birch Tree Adult Fortified Boost milk, UnMeat plant based products, and Century Tuna Yellowfin in Olive Oil.
Moving forward, Mr. Manapat said the company is keen on building its brand portfolio and other categories that will benefit from long-term growth in income and consumption per capita.
“We remain cautiously optimistic and continue to monitor closely the demand for our core products, growth trajectory of our emerging categories, and performance of our new product launches,” Mr. Manapat said.
“Despite continued uncertainties and expectations of increased raw material costs, our strong start puts us in a good position to meet or, potentially, even exceed our original earnings growth target of 10 to 15% this year — thanks in part to the benefits of CREATE,” he added.
On Wednesday, shares of CNPF at the stock exchange rose 1.53% or 30 centavos to end at P19.90 each. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave