URC's sugar business dents earnings, branded foods drive growth in 2024

Universal Robina Corp. (URC), the Gokongwei Group’s food and beverage unit, reported a three percent dip in core net income to ₱12.2 billion last year due to lower earnings from its sugar and renewables business (SURE).

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said sales improved three percent to ₱161.9 billion versus the same period in 2023, with volume growth seen across all divisions.

Total operating income in 2024 ended at ₱16.7 billion, behind by four percent versus the previous year, driven by lower profits from the SURE business correcting against the windfall of 2023.

Net of SURE, URC posted double-digit operating income growth of 20 percent from 2023, propelled by structural margin improvements.

Net income from continuing operations was ahead of operating income due to higher foreign exchange gains compared to 2023. It closed at ₱12.5 billion, down two percent against the previous year.

URC also announced a dividend of ₱2 per share to stockholders on record as of April 11, 2025, with a payout on May 9, 2025. The dividend is five percent higher than in the same period last year.

“We delivered strong cash generation and dividend growth while pivoting to stronger volume growth recovery, as consumer sentiments improve after absorbing multi-year inflationary pressures,” said URC President and CEO Irwin Lee.

He added that, “We expect further improvements in URC’s growth momentum going forward as we continue to provide new product innovations and better value offers to delight our customers and consumers with good food choices.”

Sales for URC’s branded consumer foods (BCF) group, excluding packaging and China, ended at ₱109.5 billion for the full year ending Dec. 31, 2024, up two percent from 2023.

BCF Philippines sales closed at ₱74.7 billion, flat from the same period in the previous year, with most categories posting both volume and value growth, offsetting challenged segments.

Given the challenging macroeconomic environment consumers faced, value-for-money segments continued to grow faster than the rest of the portfolio.

BCF international delivered sales of ₱34.8 billion, up eight percent from 2023, as all international business units delivered strong volume and value growth despite the generally tepid consumer sentiment seen across Southeast Asia.

The agro-industrial and commodities group recorded ₱51.3 billion in sales, up five percent from 2023, as higher volumes across most segments offset competitive price adjustments in feeds and flour.