RFM books 17% rise in H1 profit to P650M
Food and beverage manufacturer RFM Corp. booked a 17-percent rise in first semester profit to P650 million on stronger sales in its pasta and ice cream businesses.
In a stock exchange filing on Friday, the Concepcion family-led firm said sales inched up by 4 percent to P9.55 billion as sales of pasta, pasta sauce and ice cream products “experienced good growth.”
RFM noted that flour sales went down due to lower market prices as a result of a decline in the price of wheat.
Jose Ma. Concepcion III, CEO of RFM, said 2024 “looks to be a good year in terms of income growth, as we are able to enjoy softer costs of raw materials.”
The company behind Selecta dairy products, Sunkist juice, and Fiesta pasta also recently opened its P1.1-billion bakery plant in Silang, Cavite that is expected to further boost income.
“RFM is also launching new products this year like the Selecta Flavored Milk and other milk innovations to maintain the growth momentum in RFM’s milk segment,” Concepcion said.
RFM in 1999 entered into a joint venture with consumer goods giant Unilever Philippines to establish Unilever-RFM Ice Cream Inc. and boost the Selecta business.
The joint venture is expected to sustain growth this year with “timely price adjustments to ensure affordability and healthy demand,” according to Concepcion.
He added that they would likewise roll out more projects to sustain the pasta business.
RFM declared P300 million in cash dividends, equivalent to P0.089 per share, payable on Sept. 13 to shareholders of record on Aug. 16.
The company has so far declared a total of P800 million in dividends, or P0.24 per share, this year.
