Universal Robina Corp. net income down 2.8% in Q1

Gokongwei-led food and beverage manufacturer Universal Robina Corporation (URC) saw a 2.8-percent drop in net income to P2.3 billion in the first quarter of its fiscal year ending September 2013, which the company attributed to foreign exchange losses due to the continued appreciation of the peso. However, the company's net sales grew 11.8 percent to P20.1 billion, URC said in its financial statement to the Philippine Stock Exchange. The sales growth was driven largely by improved volumes and the continued drop of input prices of URC's domestic branded consumer foods (BCF), which increased sales by 18.5 percent to P9.93 billion. The international BCF subsector reported a 4.9-percent sales increase to P5.32 billion. Revenues from commodity foods grew 29.3 percent to P2.45 billion, as the sugar division's net sales jumped 86.1 with the early start of the milling season. However, flour revenues fell 7.8 percent as imports of low-cost flour rose the Visayas and Mindanao regions were hit by natural calamities. URC's agro-industrial group brought in revenues of P2.1 billion in revenues, up 9.6 percent year on year as improved sales volumes brought the farm business up 35.7 percent while the feed business declined 14.6 percent. — BM, GMA News