|
SHAREHOLDERS of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) have approved the
plan of the food and beverage giant to implement a
corporate restructuring program that will allow the firm
to divest partial ownership in major businesses.
The
program, which was presented at the company’s annual
stockholders’ meeting Thursday, will involve the conduct
of initial public offering (IPO) and secondary sale of
shares, and negotiations for strategic partnerships.
But SMC
president and vice chairman, Ramon Ang, said details of
the program are still being studied. Previously,
how-ever, he said SMC has plans to hold a public
offering for its packaging business and sell secondary
shares of its food operations once consolidated under
unit, San Miguel Purefoods.
Chairman
Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., however, pointed out that once
SMC pursues “such a partnership, San Miguel would retain
controlling interest of at least 51 percent.”
And
added that “Once the opportunities are there, we will
consider. Right now, the market conditions are quite
weak, that’s why we have to study every move.”
The SMC
executives also recognized that in the short- and
medium-term, the operating environment will continue to
be tough.
“Inflationary pressures remain a concern as fuel prices
and raw material costs have risen sharply. However, we
have covered these cost pressures through cost
savings—using our scale to drive business efficiency.
We’re confident that SMC portfolio of well-known,
quality food and beverage brands will stand it in good
stead during this economic slowdown,” said Cojuangco.
But he
noted that the current economic slowdown will not stop
them for exploring potential and prospective
investments. In fact, he said there are a few companies
they are looking at but he did not elaborate on the
details.
Last
May, SMC held an IPO for its beer unit, San Miguel
Brewery Inc. (SMB), via the sale of 770.524 million new
and secondary shares at P8 apiece.
The IPO
generated gross proceeds of P6.2 billion, of which
P616.4 million went directly to the company for
expansion program, while P5.5 billion went to parent
firm SMC to finance debt payment.
SMB’s
first half net sales grew 9 percent to P23.8 billion
from P21.9 billion the previous year. Operating income
grew 25 percent to P7.2 billion from P5.7 billion last
year.
“Despite
a more challenging economic environment and added
pressure on the consumer’s disposable income, we’ve
turned in very strong results. We continue to invest in
brand building and are focusing on improving sales
momentum and efficient execution across all distribution
levels,” said Ang.
SMC is
convinced of the many business opportunities in the
country especially in this time of crisis.
“We are
concentrating our energy now in the Philippines. We are
interested to invest in anything that will enhance
shareholders’ value,” Ang said.
The
company recently formed an alliance with
businessman-philanthropist Robert Kuok to launch a
$1-billion food security initiative in cooperation with
the Philippine government to help address the high food
prices.
The
tie-up expects to develop one million hectares of
government-owned land to promote agricultural production
and develop a sustainable food supply for the country. |
