Food and beverage conglomerate RFM Corp. reported a net income of P302 million for the first half, tracking growth of 42 percent over the same period last year, on the back of a 16 percent sales growth to P5.3 billion for the period. In a report to the PSE and SEC, RFM said its sales and income growth appeared to be well on the way to achieving or even exceeding its full year targets.
RFM president Jose Concepcion III noted that the company’s income growth is accelerating due to a combination of lower commodity input costs such a milk and sugar, as well as increasing sales of higher value products.
“We are likewise benefitting from better economies of scale as we reach the critical mass of sales volume in our key brands Selecta ice cream, in joint venture with Unilever, as well as Fiesta pasta, resulting in higher yields and efficiencies,” he said.
Concepcion added that the bullish economic climate is encouraging consumer confidence and spending, which in turn have also pushed further business confidence. He explained that “practically all the company’s brands have been showing growth over last year, led by Selecta ice cream, White King Fiesta pasta, Selecta milk and Sunkist juice.”
Selecta in particular cited the growth of its newly launched Magnum ice cream (the Belgian chocolate ice cream on-stick) which has become a craze among the youth market. With greater supply availability, it has reduced the frequency of out-of-stock experiences since it was launched in March. As a dominant market leader with 71 percent market share, Selecta has continued to grow the ice cream category with affordable yet exciting innovations in its Cornetto and Classic lines, such as the Selecta Overload, the Selecta super-thick Classics, the Hersheys collection, and the Cornetto disc.
RFM’s White King Fiesta division, which includes its fast-growing pasta business, has also been performing very well, expanding its market leadership position to 29 percent, from 25 percent last year, according to Concepcion. In key accounts, Fiesta posted an even larger market share of 38 percent.
“The consistently firm pasta quality at affordable pricing levels has made Fiesta more preferred  among pasta brands,” he said.  Other White King products such as all-purpose flour, hotcake and flour mixes, Arroz Caldo and Champorado have also captured a good slice of the market that prefers easy-to-prepare Filipino native cakes and hot porridge dishes, with good value-for-money.
“We believe that stronger brand equity and continuous product innovations have influenced the shift in buying pattern and frequency in a number of categories we participate in,” Concepcion said.
Moving forward, Concepcion also revealed its intent to accelerate its growth organically and through possible acquisitions and strategic partnerships.
Also in the first half of the year, RFM’s recent disclosures included the launch of its joint venture with leading US flour R&D company, Engrain, that will develop and market in the Asia-Pacific flour-related enhancers to improve the quality and cost-performance of flour products.  RFM also signed a major distributorship agreement with global packaged pineapple and fruits leader Dole, to serve as the main distributor of Dole packaged food in selected modern trade accounts and all downline accounts nationwide.