Vitarich Corporation, a leading poultry integrator and manufacturer of animal feeds, delivered record results in 2024 with net income surging 68 percent to an all-time high of ₱216.6 million last year from ₱129 million in 2023, with profitability in all segments of the business.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said revenues increased 4.5 percent to a record ₱12.54 billion. Earnings per share amounted to ₱0.071.
Vitarich President and CEO Ricardo Manuel M. Sarmiento said, “2024 was a banner year for VITA, marked by our highest annual profit and strong momentum in innovation.”
“We continue to enhance our competitiveness and profitability through a balanced portfolio, improved cost efficiency, and more optimized supply chain. These efforts position us well for sustained growth moving forward,” he added.
Revenue growth was led by the food segment, benefiting from the ongoing business transformation towards modern trade and hotels, restaurants, and institutional customers, along with favorable market movements that drove volume growth and a recovery in chicken prices.
This offset the lower revenues in the Feeds business, which remained challenging due to the reduced hog population from the African Swine Fever outbreak.
Gross profit jumped 66.2 percent to ₱1.5 billion as cost of goods declined 4.8 percent to ₱11.0 billion, reflecting lower raw material prices which dropped by about 10 percent. As a result, gross profit margin expanded to 12.0 percent from 7.2 percent in 2023.
Operating profit rose 37 times to ₱397.8 million after administrative and selling and distribution expenses increased 23.7 percent, primarily due to higher costs from adding distribution channels and e-commerce.
As a percentage of sales, operating expenses including growth-related investments in personnel and marketing inched up to 8.8 percent of revenues from 7.2 percent in 2023.
In Foods, revenues reached an all-time high of ₱7.44 billion, rising 7.1 percent year-on-year fueled by improvements in volume of 4.3 percent and pricing of 2.3 percent. Foods comprised 59.3 percent of revenues from 55.6 percent in 2023.
By geography, growth was driven by Visayas and Luzon. Visayas drove volume growth with a strong double-digit increase while Luzon remained the largest market, gaining from positive pricing and volume trends.
In Feeds, revenues were ₱4.51 billion, 12.1 percent lower than in the previous year due to less favorable volumes and prices, notably in Luzon and Mindanao. Feeds accounted for 35.9 percent of revenues from 41.0 percent in 2023.
While total layer feed volumes rose sharply by 25.8 percent, the ongoing negative impact of African Swine Fever led to a reduction in demand for hog feeds.
Broiler feed sales also slowed, tempered by weak farm gate chicken prices in the first four months of the year which stemmed from an oversupply in the market.
In Farms, revenues grew to ₱594.2 million, increasing 40.0 percent year-on-year mostly from a higher net gain on the fair value of biological assets such as day-old chicks, in line with improved selling prices at the end of the period. Farms represented 4.7 percent of revenues from 3.4 percent in 2023.