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ALASKA
Milk Corp. (AMC), one of the country’s leading
manufacturers of milk products, is bent on keeping its
prices at current levels despite rising inflation.
At the
sidelines of its annual stockholders’ meeting Tuesday,
president and chief executive Wilfred Steven Uytengsu
Jr. said his company would be able to do such move by
hedging on the commodity and implementing reformulation
strategies, including downsizing the packaging and
reducing the content of the product, without
compromising the quality.
“We
recognize that with the impact of inflation and the food
basket being affected, we really need to find ways [to
keep] milk products affordable. We are competing for the
same share of wallet and stomach, and we acknowledge
that rice is the primary commodity, which every
household needs to put on the table,” he said.
If the
company implements price increases at this time,
Uytengsu said they would be hit negatively. AMC last
hiked its prices in the third quarter of 2007.
But,
according to him, they would closely monitor market
developments.
“If the
margin squeeze becomes too acute and milk-powder prices
should surge again and the peso further depreciates,
those factors we would take into consideration. But we
are primarily focused on seeing consumption and volume
increases, and so, while we may see some sacrifice in
the margin, we would like our topline to grow,” Uytengsu
explained.
Revenues
for the first quarter jumped 28 percent to P2.14 billion
from P1.7 billion in the same period last year. The
robust revenue growth stemmed from higher sales volume
generated by the liquid canned-milk business combined
with higher selling prices.
Net
income, however, fell to P86 million from P170 million.
The
robust performance of the liquid canned-milk market
during the fourth quarter of 2007 was sustained through
the first quarter of the year, as consumer off-take
remained brisk going into the seasonally high summer
months. |
