Ultra bilyonaryo Lucio Tan-led Victorias Milling Co. Inc. grew its net income in the nine months ending May this year by 17 percent to P743.6 million.
The significant increase in prices and demand for both ethanol and refined sugar increased the group’s revenues by 11 percent but was slightly offset by the decline in raw sugar and molasses sales during the period.
Cost of goods sold and services increased as the cost of cane hauling rose 22 percent and the impact of rising prices drove production cost to increase by 36 percent.
Operating expenses, excluding a significant one-off reversal of provision in the previous period, remained comparable with last year’s figure at seven percent of gross revenues.
The recent Russia-Ukraine conflict spiked global oil prices and worsened supply chain bottlenecks which resulted to inflationary pressures that continue to push up input costs. Despite these developments, VMC remains resilient and maintains a strong balance sheet, with a five percent growth in stockholder’s equity.
VMC currently has no outstanding short and long-term loans as of May 31.