High prices dent RFM earnings in first 9 mos.

Rising commodity prices and lower consumer spending dented the earnings of food and beverage company RFM Corp. in first nine months. RFM told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday its earnings dropped 43 percent to P300.7 million in the January to September. “While net income is still about 43 percent lower for the first nine months versus the same period last year, we are beginning to see the lift in numbers now trending towards a revised outlook of about P450 million by year-end," the company said. “This would be just about 28 percent lower than the record P625 million achieved in 2010," said RFM president and CEO Joey Concepcion. RFM — whose brands include Selecta, White King, Sunkist, Swift and Fiesta pasta — noted that sales rose 9 percent to P6.8 billion. — CMS/VS, GMA News