Canned tuna producer Century Pacific Food Inc. said net income in 2019 climbed 11 percent to P3.1 billion on strong sales from the branded food business.
Century Pacific said Wednesday in a disclosure to the stock exchange consolidated revenues rose seven percent to P40.6 billion on the back of a double-digit growth in the branded business.
The branded business, comprised of the marine, meat and milk business units and accounting for 77 percent of the overall revenues, saw sales increase 12 percent to P31.2 billion.
Sales of the canned tuna and coconut OEM (original equipment manufacturer) business, whose revenues accounted for the balance of 23 percent, registered a six-percent drop due to lower commodity prices.
Consolidated gross profit climbed 20 percent in 2019 as favorable commodity price trends led to improved profitability for the company.
The improvement in gross profit also enabled the company to invest more heavily in brands, new product development and innovations, leading to a 13-percent increase in operating expense.
Century Pacific, meanwhile, assured the public of continued supply of its products amid the threat from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine.
“In these challenging times, we recognize the critical role we play in ensuring enough of our products are available to those who need them the most. Thanks to the support of the Department of Trade & Industry and the Inter Agency Task Force, we are able to maintain a smooth flow of goods and operate with enough capacity, despite the use of a skeleton workforce,” said Century Pacific chief finance officer Oscar Pobre.
“We will continue working closely with the government to ensure unhampered operations of our company and our supply chain partners. We also remain in close touch with partner local government units for the supply and donation of various food products. Finally, the health, safety, and financial protection of our employees remain paramount and we continue to provide them with care and financial aid,” he added.
The company earlier said it would provide one million food packs to Filipinos amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The food packs will be distributed nationwide, zeroing on severely hit communities.
The company earmarked financial support to employees, communities and several institutions in an effort to join the nation in the fight against COVID-19.