The Philippines: San Miguel Brewery upbeat on business recovery in the second half of this year

Beer giant San Miguel Brewery is upbeat on business recovery in the second half of this year with the rollout of the country’s COVID-19 vaccination program, The Inquirer reported on May 26.

In the first quarter, SMB booked a 47-percent year-on-year growth in net profit attributable to equity holders of parent firm amounting to P5.37 billion, driven by cost-savings reduction, lower tax expense and a modest growth in sales.

“SMB remains to be optimistic as to the company’s performance and recovery in the second half of the year,” company president Roberto Huang said during the company’s stockholders meeting on May 25.

“For starters, the progress in the country’s vaccination rollout will help restore business and consumer confidence. Likewise, the government’s program to address unemployment and boost economic growth and investment will help negate the effects of the pandemic.”

Huang said this would also be the right time to rise to the challenge and support the overall thrust for business growth and recovery.

This year, he said SMB would fortify the strength of SMB in the alcoholic beverage market while increasing its presence in profitable nonalcoholic beverage segments.

“To meet this goal, we will focus on safeguarding strong patronage of the brands and protect market leadership and also promote an agile and forward-looking organization to support our recovery plan and ensure business continuity,” he said.

For the international operations, the group would focus on volume recovery by growing distribution channels, particularly modern trade and wholesale channels, as well as online selling platforms.

SMB also planned to enter new markets overseas in order to expand the presence of the San Miguel brands, while rolling out new variants in selected markets, Huang said.

Including earnings attributable to minority interest, SMB’s first-quarter net income increased by 45 percent year-on-year to P5.5 billion.

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