Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) said its income for the first semester reached P29.57 billion, a turnaround from its P3.98-billion loss last year, as all its major businesses saw improvements.

Consolidated revenues grew 16 percent to P410.1 billion from last year's P352.79 billion driven by higher sales from Petron Corp., which rose by 14 percent; SMC Global Power Corp. by 5 percent; SMC Infrastructure by 27 percent; and San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. by 20 percent.

Operating income surged fourfold to P61 billion from last year's P14.92 billion brought about by improved margins, company-wide cost savings initiatives and improvements in operational efficiencies.

"While there is no doubt that the uncertainties brought about by the pandemic will continue to have an impact on our businesses, our strong performance in the first half reflects the effectiveness of the strategies we've put in place and our ability to quickly adapt to the evolving needs of our consumers," San Miguel President and COO Ramon S. Ang said in a statement. Ang said the reimposition of a lockdown for two weeks is an opportunity for the company to respond in terms of immediate relief for disadvantaged communities, supply much-needed essential goods and services, and help protect the country's social and economic gains in the continuing fight against the pandemic.

San Miguel Food and Beverage's income more than doubled to P17.36 billion in the first semester from last year's P7.33 billion.

Consolidated revenues reached P146.79 billion, up 20 percent from last year's P122.81 billion.

Revenues of San Miguel Foods rose 11 percent to P72.24 billion from the previous P65.18 billion, primarily driven by its protein and animal nutrition businesses, which posted a double-digit volume growth. Net income grew fourfold to P6.17 billion from the previous year's P1.33 billion.

San Miguel Brewery Inc. rebounded as consolidated sales volumes improved 15 percent versus last year, with the easing of quarantine restrictions and lifting of liquor bans in its markets. This resulted in consolidated revenues of P54.33 billion for the first half of the year, up 27 percent from the previous P42.79 billion.

Consolidated operating income of the beer business grew 64 percent to reach P12.08 billion from P7.35 billion last year, while net income rose 89 percent to P9.51 billion from P5.02 billion.

Volumes of Ginebra San Miguel Inc. increased 21 percent year-on-year as it continued to introduce marketing campaigns and promotions, expand distribution, and sustain supply chain efficiencies.

As a result, the spirits business generated revenues of P20.23 billion, 36 percent higher than the previous year's P14.84 billion. Income from operations rose 45 percent to P2.61 billion from P1.8 billion last year. Net income jumped 66 percent to P 2.09 billion from P1.25 billion.

SMC Global Power recorded first-half off-take volumes of 13,552 gigawatthour and consolidated revenues amounting to P60.27 billion, both representing a 5-percent growth over the same period in 2020, driven by higher spot volumes and improved nominations from customers.

Operating income declined 5 percent to P17.2 billion due to higher purchase volumes resulting from gas supply restrictions for the Ilijan power plant and outages in the Sual power plant.

Net income rose 35 percent to P12.2 billion from last year's P9.06 billion.

SMC Infrastructure generated revenues of P8.45 billion for the period, up 27 percent from last year's P6.67 billion. Average daily traffic flow in all operating toll roads continue to improve, while volumes also continue to increase for Manila North Harbor and Bulacan Bulk Water. Operating income grew more than double to P2.3 billion from last year's P951 million.

The Skyway Stage 3 project, which was opened to the public on January 14, started collecting toll fees only last July 12.

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