Vitarich earmarks P80M for 2017 capex

Months after exiting corporate rehabilitation, poultry grower and feeds maker Vitarich Corp. on Tuesday said it has recovered and allocated P80 million to capital expenditure 9capex0 for the year.

"This year, and moving forward, we will see more capex," Vitarich Chief Executive Officer and President Ricardo Manuel Sarmiento told reporters in Taguig City.

The money will be spent primarily on expansion as it seeks to double production capacity.

The company is in the process of expanding and automating its Iloilo feed mill to raise output capacity to 187,200 50-kg bags a year from 93,600 50-kg bags on average.

It will also double the capacity of its Davao chicken-dressing plant to 942,000 heads per month from 471,000.

In the first quarter of 2017, the company posted P47.6 million in net income, up 25.26 percent from a year earlier. 

In 2016, Vitarich posted P17.5 million in net income, up 143.7 percent from the P7.18 million in 2015.

In September 2016, the Bulacan Regional Trial Court approved the exit of Vitarich from a court-assisted corporate rehabilitation. — VDS, GMA News