Century Pacific Food Inc. said it sees net income and profits growing by double digit level this year even if increased prices of raw materials put pressure on margins.
CNPF president Christopher Po said in an interview at the sidelines of the annual stockholders’ meeting the company’s first-quarter performance of 10 percent income growth and 17 percent rise in revenues set the tone for the group’s performance for the remainder of the year.
“2017 will be a period of normalization as commodity prices are started to come up and the peso has weakened against the dollar for the past 12 to 18 months,” Po said.
“What were tailwinds at the end of 2016 are now the headwinds for 2017. There is a bit more uncertainty right now but we are still cautiously optimistic about the business prospects. But we do expect to have margin pressure,” Po added.
The company’s recent investments and acquisition are expected to contribute to the group’s growth.
Po said recent investments in China and expansion to other markets like the United States and Middle East were showing positive growth.
CNPF in December completed the acquisition of three China distribution companies in for $2.56 million.
With the acquisition, the company said it planned to widen its product portfolio and expand the distribution network in China.
The company is also studying opportunities to enter adjacent categories to take advantage of the new market.
The company last year acquired the license to the Kamayan trademark for North America.
Po said the acquisition enabled the company to venture into the condiments business and eventually expand its product lines.
The company expects to recover its investment in Kamayan over the next two to three years.
The group’s most recent acquisition was Hunt’s license in the Philippines. Hunt’s is a market leader in the pork and beans category and also has a foothold in tomato and spaghetti sauce.
“I am excited by the potential of each of these acquisitions present. Plans are in place for each of these businesses to return multiples over their acquisition cost. The challenge is now to execute,” Po said.