The Philippines' largest food and beverage conglomerate, San Miguel Corp., said on November 7 consolidated net profit rose 15% in the three months ended Sept. 30, to 1.79 billion pesos ($1=PHP55.27) from PHP1.56 billion a year earlier, pushing earnings for the first nine months of 2003 to PHP4.84 billion. Group revenue rose 9% on year in the third quarter to PHP35.9 billion from PHP32.9 billion. "It is well within my forecast, but many in the market are bound to be disappointed," said Spencer Yap, assistant vice president for research at BPI Securities. "Some investors expectations won't be met," Yap projects San Miguel's full-year net profit to reach PHP6.9 billion, up 4% from PHP6.63 billion in 2002.

A survey by Thomson First Call of four brokerage houses showed a consensus estimate of PHP9.71 billion for San Miguel's 2003 net profit. The earnings estimates range between PHP10.86 billion and PHP8.5 billion.

San Miguel's domestic beer operations turned in a higher operating income of PHP4.1 billion on a comparably lower revenue of PHP21.9 billion over the same period. But the research head said there are two bright spots for the beverage group: a price increase it implemented early in the fourth quarter, and the expected stronger sales due to the Christmas season and upcoming national elections.

San Miguel also got a boost in the just-ended quarter from its international beer operations, whose sales had suffered in the second quarter from the deadly outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. International beer sales rose 11% on year in the third quarter while operating income for the period rose 9% on year to $4.9 million.

San Miguel's main overseas markets are Hong Kong and China, two areas that were hit hardest by SARS.

07 November, 2003