June 30, 2008

Philippine meat giant San Miguel Purefoods Co. will continue its US$33.41 million (P1.5-billion) expansion of its swine venture with resolution of the dispute over the property in Sumilao, Bukidnon, according to Purefoods president Francis Alejo III.

Alejo said the expansion, which will take two to three years, will include feed mill operations and drying facility.

The executive said, some portions of the project which started in 2007, will be finished within the year.

Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., Purefoods chairman, said the company is expected to sustain its growth for the remaining months of the year despite difficult times ahead. He said the remainder of "2008 will be tough but judging our first quarter results, we remain confident that we are going to be able to achieve our growth targets for the year."

Though he did not reveal company's target numbers, its January to March revenues grew by 18 percent to P16.05 billion compared to what it made in the same period last year.

Cojuangco said admits that the current downturn will be felt in the coming months but "we have the potential to outperform competition because we are getting better at managing the fundamentals of our business."

Purefoods, a unit of San Miguel Corp., has increased its selling prices of its products this year to recover the rising cost of raw materials. Alejo said prices have been raised by 3 to 10 percent, depending on the product.

US$1 = P44.885 as of June 29, 2008