Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. said Thursday net income dropped 18 percent in the first quarter to P12.82 billion from P15.6 billion recorded in the same period last year on the weak performance of the fuel and food businesses.
San Miguel said in a disclosure to the stock exchange first-quarter consolidated revenues rose 7 percent to P250.9 billion on the back of strong volumes across major businesses.
The company said the fuel and oil and food businesses were pulled down by volatile global oil prices and higher raw materials cost.
“The slowdown in these businesses is temporary. We are not taking them lightly and we’re seeing clear signs of recovery. We anticipate higher consumer spending from an improving economy, primarily the easing of inflation. The election season also usually brings us good results. We’ve implemented a good number of measures to recover lost ground and further strengthen our competitive positions in industries where we are in,” SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said.
“We’re off to a good start in terms of our volume and revenue performance. Our businesses are performing strongly despite the challenges, and we are confident that as it was in the past, we will overcome the impact of these economic challenges faced. Meanwhile, SMC’s other major businesses continued to deliver strong results,” he said.