Second quarter figures at San Miguel Corp have become the latest financials to fall foul of the SARS outbreak, with the company reporting a 10% drop in profits.
The below-expectations figures were the result of the virus outbreak affecting beer sales in Hong Kong and China.
Analysts and San Miguel Corp, however, did not expect full year targets to be affected.
The company said that between January and June its net income reached 3.05 billion pesos (US$55.8m) a rise of 2% on the year earlier. No breakdown of second quarter figures were given but its first-quarter net income of 1.34 billion pesos means it had a profit of 1.71 billion pesos in the three months ended June 30.
In a statement San Miguel said: “The company’s profit performance was tempered as significant earnings dilution occurred due to the impact of SARS on beer volumes in Hong Kong and South China and the protracted weakness in industry poultry prices,” it said in a statement.
“With the SARS outbreak now contained worldwide, San Miguel expects its international beer market conditions to improve considerably in the second half of 2003.”

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