MANILA - Splash Corp. is eyeing to double the sales of a food canning business it is set to acquire.
In a phone interview, Vicci Tomas, Splash chief finance officer, said Splash can easily double the P40-million sales of Moondish Foods Corp. as it capitalizes on the personal care products maker’s wide distribution network.
"We can easily double sales by next year by tapping our wide distribution network and selling it side by side with our other products. It has limited distribution in the Philippines and we can also expand the stable of products it offers," said Tomas.
Moondish is an attractive acquisition for Splash, a relatively new player in the food business, as it shortens the company's product development time and provides access to canning technology, Tomas said.
Moondish manufactures Filipino dishes such as laing, bicol express, ginataang ampalaya and ginataang puso ng saging, among others. About 75 percent of its products is shipped to the United States, Japan, Europe and other parts of Asia.
After securing board approval to purchase 100 percent of Moondish for a maximum price of P33 million, Splash is performing due diligence.
If the acquisition pushes through, no material capital investment is needed since Moondish has underutilized capacity.
The listed firm intends to keep the Moondish brand and introduce improvements in the packaging of its products.
Aside from the acquisition of Moondish, Splash is also set to grow its food business organically with the launch in the next two months of a new brand "catering to the mainstream or international market.”
"Right now, our food business is small because we just bought Barrio Fiesta Manufacturing Corp. last year. By the end of the year, it can account for 10 percent of the business. It's not huge, but it has value potential," said Tomas.
Splash may feel the full benefits of its venture into food and the expansion of its personal care business by next year.
"This year, we will have slight growth, but towards the third or fourth quarter of 2013, we will be full speed ahead," said Tomas.
Splash posted a 40-percent drop in earnings to P86.4 million in 2011 from the previous year's P145 million on the back of higher expenses due to increased investments in advertising and promotion, as well as the expansion of its direct selling business.
Last year, Splash marked its foray into the food business with the acquisition of an 80-percent stake in BFMC.
Splash is the company behind the brands Kolours, Vitresse, Extraderm, Maxi-Peel, Skin White, Biolink and Theraherb VCO.
source: interaksyon.com
