Liberty Flour Mills Inc. (LFM), which has been reeling from a dispute among its principal shareholders, is considering the sale of its core flour milling business and other non-core assets to maximize value and the use of capital.

“The corporation wishes to announce that its board of directors has resolved to commence a formal review of strategic options for its flour milling business and certain other non-core assets,” LFM said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Thursday, Jan. 29.

It added that “the objective of the strategic review is to evaluate all available paths to maximize shareholder value and ensure the company’s capital is allocated to the highest-growth opportunities.”

Options to be considered during the review include, but are not limited to, a potential sale, demerger, joint venture (JV), or the continued retention and further development of the flour business within the company’s existing structure.

“The flour business remains a significant part of the company’s operations; however, the board believes it is timely to assess different options that could better unlock its value and support its future growth,” LFM said.

The company noted that the strategic review is still at a preliminary stage and that there is no certainty it will result in any specific transaction or outcome.

It assured that operations across all of the firm’s business units will continue as normal throughout the duration of the review. The board has also appointed an adviser to assist in the process.

For the first nine months of 2025, LFM reported a jump in net income to ₱413.08 million from ₱70.21 million in the same period in 2024, largely due to net other income of ₱355.13 million arising from one-off transactions, including a ₱376.69-million gain from a property dividend distribution.

This account consisted of net miscellaneous income from scrap sales, unrealized foreign exchange (forex) gains or losses, provisions for impairment losses, and gains or losses from the sale of financial assets.

Excluding these one-time gains, net income for the first nine months would have been lower at ₱57.95 million, as sales volumes of flour and mill feeds posted a marginal decline of one percent.

In terms of sales value, LFM posted ₱817.88 million, down from ₱911.81 million in the same period a year earlier, translating to a 10.3-percent drop in revenue, mainly due to lower selling prices.

Cost of sales declined by 7.34 percent, primarily on lower United States (US) dollar wheat costs and reduced direct operating expenses. However, gross income still fell to ₱163.37 million from the previous year’s level, reflecting weaker revenues.

Last September, some LFM shareholders sought the intervention of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate alleged irregularities involving the company, including ₱804.7 million in uncollected receivables from its distributor, Parity Values Inc. (PVI).

Through their counsel, Bernaldo Po Presto & Poblador Law Office, former LFM president and director Sandra Uy and former assistant treasurer Stella Uy claimed they were eased out of the company’s board and management after raising concerns over LFM’s mounting and long-standing receivables from PVI.

They noted that PVI enjoys generous credit terms of up to 180 days, and that receivables have ballooned due to the failure to enforce prompt collection.

The two added that, during LFM’s annual stockholders’ meeting (ASM), LFM corporate secretary and PVI treasurer William L. Ang confirmed that PVI’s payment terms had extended to about 360 days, although there was a plan to reduce receivables by 40 percent next year.

“However, no specific measures for recovery or collection were presented during the ASM,” they said, adding that there are interlocking directors between LFM and PVI, namely John Carlos Uy, Willy G. Ng, and Ang.

“These overlapping roles raise serious issues of conflict of interest to the detriment of LFM and minority shareholders,” they said.