FOOD and beverage manufacturer Universal Robina Corp. (URC) said that they were able to close their 2023 with sales reaching P158.4 billion.

The said announcement was made during a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

URC claimed that their sales increased by 6 percent last year, with a record-high baseline in 2022 of P149.9 billion.

“Both the Branded Consumer Foods (BCF) and the Agro-Industrial & Commodities (AIC) businesses continued their momentum into the fourth quarter, growing sequentially versus the previous quarter,” it said.

Meanwhile, the operating income likewise grew by 14% in 2023 against the previous year.

It made double topline growth, to close at PHP17.4 billion.

On the other hand, URC’s net income last year dropped 12 % to P12.8 billion “due to higher comparables from gain on land sale last year."

Their core net income also grew 6% to P12.6 billion.

They ended 2023 with a healthy cash balance of PHP12.2 billion, a net debt of PHP13.4 billion, and a gearing ratio of 0.23.

URC is a core subsidiary of JG Summit Holdings, Inc.