050907: Alaska Milk chalks up 127% growth in earnings to P170 M

Alaska Milk Corporation reported a 127 percent surge in profits for the first quarter of the year to P170 million from the P75 million posted in the same period last year as sales grew faster than costs. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) yesterday, Alaska reported higher sales volume across its core milk businesses, supplemented by a selective selling price increase, pushed net revenues up 33 percent to P1.67 billion from P1.26 billion in the first quarter of 2006. The firm said its liquid canned milk business posted strong growth rates notwithstanding the market’s contraction while the rate of decline for both evaporated and sweetened condensed milk products slowed down compared to the drop a year ago. The powdered milk category continued to contract, also at a slower pace, weighed largely by the contraction of the full cream segment. But sales volume managed to grow at a high single digit rate due to improvements in product availability. Sales volume of the firm’s UHT product line sustained its growth momentum through the quarter and posted double digit increases versus the same period last year. Cost of sales and operating expenses expanded by 20 percent to P1.43 billion from P1.19 billion last year on account of the upsurge in sales volume as well as heightened advertising and trade promotions in support of volume growth. Despite the rising cost of skimmed milk powder in the international market, the firm said it managed to pull down the landed cost by 11 percent due to forward-buying arrangements and lower foreign exchange cost. Improvements in operating efficiencies also kept production costs in check while operating expenses rose due to advertising and promotional spending to propel volume growth going into the seasonally high summer months. (JAL)

 

 

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