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...