Monde Nissin Corp., manufacturer of the Philippines’ market leading Lucky Me! instant noodles, on Monday projected its core net income growing “by mid-teens” in 2023 as sales likely rose in the “high single-digit” on the back of strong growth in the Asia-Pacific branded food and beverage business, offsetting the decline in meat alternative gross margin.
“I am pleased to share that our preliminary fourth-quarter results reflect the continued strength that we saw during the third quarter, driven by our APAC BFB business. This led to another all-time high revenue for the quarter and for the year,” said Monde chief executive officer Henry Soesanto, in a statement.
Robust growth in noodle and beverage sales pushed APAC BFB business higher last year. Monde said its noodles market share improved by 140 basis points to 67.3 percent and 380 bps to 67.5 percent for the past 52-week and 12-week periods, respectively.
The fourth-quarter sales growth in its domestic business was backed by all-time high volumes, which grew by more than 5 percent year-on-year and margin expansion of over 400 bps year-over-year in the fourth quarter.
Monde said its commodity lock ins for wheat and palm oil that lapses in the second and third quarter this year, respectively, are lower by a low double-digit percentage point compared to the same period last year.
The company said its meat alternative business continues to navigate a challenging environment but optimistic the decline will likely be in single digit.
It said the UK retail market remains weak and continues to affect the top line.
