Monde Nissin Corp. reported a net loss of P625 million in 2023 after it booked P10.1 billion in non-cash, non-operating impairment in meat alternative business.
Monde Nissin did not provide comparative figures, but in 2022 the company reported a net loss of P13 billion.
Monde Nissin said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Thursday net sales climbed 9.2 percent in 2023 to P80.1 billion, largely driven by volume growth in Asia Pacific Asia Pacific branded food and beverage (APAC BFB) categories.
APAC-BFB booked P65.94 billion in sales in 2023, up 12.6 percent from a year ago, while its meat alternative business, under Quorn Foods, posted a 4.3-percent decline in sales to P14.22 billion.
The domestic business grew 6.8 percent year-on-year, resulting from volume growth across all categories.
“The APAC BFB business saw strong topline growth and profitability, driving record revenues and translating into strong operating cash flows. This growth was aided by both volume and price across all our categories,” Monde Nissin chief executive Henry Soesanto said.
Soesanto said the positive performance of APAC BFB performance would allow the company to announce another dividend with payment in June, representing a total return of capital to investors of over P4 billion from the January and upcoming June 2024 dividends.
Soesanto said the company’s continued focus on cost reduction and improving efficiencies, coupled with better trends in input costs, would help reduce the risks of further substantial impairments.
Monde Nissin said it would also implement initiatives to sustain strong share in noodles market and address share challenges in biscuits segment.
Soesanto said the company was expecting a low single-digit revenue growth in the first quarter of 2024, partly due to the timing of the Holy Week holiday in the Philippines, and a robust gross margin improvement.
“Our input costs continue to improve, and we expect this to be reflected in our margins as the year progresses,” Soesanto said.