GSMI profit surged 140% to P1.04B
Ginebra San Miguel Inc. (GSMI) reported a 120 percent surge in net income to P1.04 billion in the first three months of 2021 from the P474 million earned in the same period last year.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the spirits business of San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. (SMFB) also reported operating income of P1.3 billion, 88 percent higher than the previous year.
GSMI said its first quarter performance was driven by programs to sustain the brand equity of its core brands Ginebra San Miguel and Vino Kulafu and further increase awareness on GSM Blue.
The flagship brand’s ongoing advertising campaign resonated well with consumers, helping push volumes to grow 29 percent from last year--its highest record in a single quarter.
“Our continuous efforts to invest in strengthening Ginebra San Miguel’s brand equity, and build a deeper connection with consumers, carried us through these uncertain times,” GSMI President Ramon S. Ang said.
For the full-year 2020, GSMI also delivered record results as net income rose to P2.76 billion, 65 percent higher than the previous year--the company’s highest profit level to date.
Consolidated revenues reached P36.2 billion and operating income ended at P3.8 billion, 25 percent and 32 percent higher, respectively, despite the imposition of liquor bans that disrupted liquor selling.
“Complementing our strategy of leveraging on the strength of our brands, was a well-coordinated, quick return-to-trade strategy, upon the easing of ECQ and implementation of General Community Quarantine (GCQ),” said Ang.
He added that, “We also made our products more accessible to more consumers, with deliberate efforts to expand our distribution coverage in high-potential areas, even as restriction measures varied across the country.”
In the early months of the pandemic, GSMI retooled its production plants nationwide to produce 70 percent ethyl alcohol that was distributed for free to help frontline workers in critical health facilities and local government units.
By the end of 2020, a total of 1.3 million liters of San Miguel Ethyl Alcohol had been delivered to almost 3,700 entities nationwide.