San Miguel Brewery Inc., the beer unit of conglomerate San Miguel Corp., is looking at sustainable recovery after a slow first-quarter performance with the imposition of quarantine restrictions and liquor ban across the country.
SMB said in a statement it began implementing programs to recover from the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
These include adjustments in operations to adapt to the new environment and shifts in consumption patterns, strengthening demand for beer products through increased product visibility and availability in the right channels and implementing focused sales programs.
SMB said the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine in March, which brought most economic activities to a halt and prompted liquor bans in cities and provinces nationwide and the increase in excise taxes at the start of the year slowed SMB’s momentum in the first quarter.
SMB reported a net income of P3.7 billion in the first quarter, down 44 percent from P6.7 billion in the same period last year.
Consolidated sales also contracted 18.5 percent to P28.4 billion following the decline in sales volume and the effect of the price increase on the company’s beer products implemented on March 1, 2020.
The decrease in sales volume was due to the liquor ban imposed in the Philippines by local government units and the total lockdowns in some areas of both domestic and international operations as part of the measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in a decrease in demand for beer products.
Domestic operations contributed P25.75 billion while international operations added P2.65 billion.
The company has six production facilities strategically located across the Philippines to ensure product availability and a distribution system serving 471,000 retail outlets.
