Century Pacific Foods Inc. said Thursday it will allocate between P3 billion and P3.5 billion for 2023 capital expenditures, higher than the usual P2 billion to P2.5 billion, to increase production capacity of meat, coconut, pet food and packaging businesses.
CPNF executive chairman Christopher Po said during the annual stockholders meeting the company would expand the capacity of its businesses as demand remains strong despite inflationary pressures.
Po said the group is more optimistic for the rest of the year as the decline in inflation rate, increase in minimum wage and stable peso are all positive trends for the consumer segment.
“Moving to the present, halfway through 2023, the sky hasn’t fully cleared. Uncertainties still remain. Nonetheless, management is working towards double-digit growth for our topline, supported by a resilient demand. Profits are on their way to improving as cost pressures ease, thus, for the year, we expect to deliver a mid to high single-digit improvement in our bottom line,” Po said.
He said while the increase in minimum wage would raise labor cost, this would be manageable as labor accounts for less than 10 percent of cost of goods. Po said there were only a few company employees earning the minimum wage.
Po said as the company’s core branded products in the marine, meat and milk categories continue to deliver positive results, its emerging business, particularly coconut, pet food and plant-based meat products are also expected to post double-digit growth in the coming years.
“Coconut, plant-based alternatives and pet food are categories that are adjacent to our already existing businesses, where we can leverage capabilities and scale. We expect these segments to grow as disposable incomes rise and consumers add more goods to their baskets. These emerging businesses are meant to futureproof our company and deliver long-term, sustainable growth,” he said.
CNPF elected three new three new members of its board of directors. They include Stephen CuUnjieng, lawyer Regina Jacinto-Barrientos and Philip Soliven.