San Miguel Corporation, Southeast Asia's largest food and beverage firm, likely posted a 10 %year-on-year growth in beer sales in June, a source close to the company said on July 15, Reuters reported. That would send estimated January-to-June local beer sales over the 15-billion-peso ($281 million) mark, the source said. The company posted beer sales revenue of 2.1 billion pesos ($39.3 million) in June of last year. Favourable production costs, particularly stable raw material prices, would likely lead to higher operating income year on year for the brewery in the six-month period, the source added.

San Miguel earlier said its beer sales in the first five months of the year climbed 13 % year on year to 12.7 billion pesos due to aggressive sales and improved distribution. Eduardo Cojuangco, company chairman and chief executive officer, told reporters on Monday the group would likely post a 30 % year-on-year jump in revenues and operating income in the first six months of the year. The group's first half net income was also likely to grow a little less than 30 % from a year ago, Cojuangco said.

The company said in a statement to the stock exchange on Tuesday it could not confirm Cojuangco's statement as it was still consolidating the group's six-month financial results. However, the firm said the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) affected its performance in the first six months of the year. San Miguel operates four breweries in China and Hong Kong. The group's listed Hong Kong unit, San Miguel Brewery, said its first half earnings may be significantly lower year on year because of the SARS outbreak in there.

US$1 = 53.5 pesos

15 July, 2003