Food group Century Pacific Food Inc. (CNPF) is expected to benefit from the decline in global tuna prices, supporting its financial performance for the year.
Stockbroker Unicapital Securities Inc., in an investor note released Tuesday, stated that tuna prices have “cooled off” to $1,500 per metric ton from a high of $1,740 per metric ton in March.
“Now that prices are easing, we believe the tuna segment is poised for a stronger performance in the second quarter,” Unicapital said.
“Tuna remains the largest contributor to CNPF’s marine segment, accounting for 70 to 80 percent of the segment’s revenues, so any price relief has a meaningful impact on margins,” it added.
This is especially important, according to the stock brokerage firm, given that Century Pacific sources the majority of its tuna through imports—from the Western Pacific Ocean, particularly in the waters of Papua New Guinea, where the fish are caught in the wild.
Century Pacific typically imports two to three months’ worth of inventory, which goes directly to its cold storage facility in General Santos City.
Meanwhile, stockbroker Abacus Securities Corp. said it expects Century Pacific’s earnings to grow “at a range of high single-digit to low double-digit” in the second quarter, with topline growth projected in the “low double-digit” range.
Last year, Century Pacific reported second-quarter net income of P1.91 billion—a 12.47 percent increase from the prior year’s P1.7 billion.
Revenues grew 9.5 percent to P19.59 billion compared to P17.89 billion.
