Century Pacific Food Inc. gave investors the kind of first-quarter earnings they usually like: faster sales, higher operating income and another rise in net profit. But beneath the headline growth, the maker of Century Tuna, Argentina, 555, Ligo and Birch Tree showed a more complicated story — one where cash flow, short-term debt and working-capital discipline may matter more than the double-digit earnings gain. The Philippine food company posted ₱23.0 billion in first-quarter revenue , up 15% from a year earlier, helped by steady demand for its branded products and a sharp rebound in its export business. Its branded segment, which accounts for about 80% of sales, grew 11% , while original equipment manufacturing exports in tuna and coconut jumped 32% from prior-year lows. Net income rose 10% to ₱2.1 billion . Yet the quarter’s biggest signal may not be in the income statement. It is in the cash-flow statement. Century Pacific generated only ₱792 million in operating cash flow...
First Gen Corp. is asking investors to look past the earnings drop and see a cleaner, more renewables-heavy company emerging from the sale of most of its gas business. The problem is that the transition is already consuming cash. The Lopez-led power producer reported a 15.7% decline in consolidated net income to ₱5.45 billion in the first quarter, while net income attributable to parent shareholders fell 23.8% to ₱3.63 billion . Recurring net income attributable to the parent dropped 24.7% to ₱3.38 billion , underscoring that the decline was not merely an accounting quirk. On the surface, the quarter had plenty for bulls to like. Revenue from electricity sales rose 32.2% to ₱15.34 billion , driven by stronger geothermal, wind and solar output under Energy Development Corp., as well as a strong quarter from the Pantabangan-Masiway hydro complex. EBITDA climbed to ₱7.64 billion from ₱6.45 billion a year earlier. But underneath that growth, investors got a reminder that Firs...