Century Pacific Food, Inc. (PSE:CNPF), one of the leading food and beverage manufacturing companies in the Philippines, was ranked as one of the Most Honored Companies across Asia in the recently concluded Institutional Investor 2024 Asia Pacific (Ex-Japan) Executive Team – Rest of Asia survey.
Within the consumer staples sector, CNPF’s management team and board of directors garnered several awards. CNPF’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Teodoro Po was recognized as among the top three Best CEOs by combined respondents from both buy-side and sell-side firms, while CNPF’s Chief Finance Officer Chad Manapat was also recognized as among the top three Best CFOs by combined overall respondents. On the other hand, CNPF’s Board of Directors was voted by buy-side firms as among the top in the sector, its second year being awarded since the category was added last year.
The Institutional Investor (II) is a leading international business to business publisher focused primarily on international finance, with its publication II Research considered as the foremost provider of independent, qualitative feedback for corporates, sell-side firms, and buy-side institutions globally. Its annual Executive Team survey solicits feedback from both sell-side and buy-side participants to assess companies across various performance attributes.
For the II Research’s 2024 Asia Pacific (Ex-Japan) Executive Team – Rest of Asia survey, a total of 2,985 portfolio managers and analysts participated in the survey, nominating a total of 1,078 companies. Out of the nominated companies, 136 received top rankings within different categories across 18 sectors and 45 were distinguished as “Most Honored” for gaining multiple top rankings.
Po said, “We are humbled by this vote of confidence from the investing community and are grateful for the consistent support through the years. As we drive our business forward, we always aim to think Win-Win. We strive to balance the needs of our stakeholders in pursuit of our mission to provide affordable nutrition to our consumers while delivering steady and sustainable growth.”
Manapat added, “We are truly honored to receive this recognition from the capital markets. It reflects the collective effort of our team, and we sincerely thank the investing community for their continued trust and confidence in our company. While we navigate a challenging macroeconomic landscape, this acknowledgment reassures us that we are on the right path. As stewards of our investors capital, we remain steadfast in investing in the business to deliver consistent long-term growth and providing our shareholders healthy returns.”
CNPF’s all-weather portfolio has been instrumental to the company’s resilient double-digit growth over the past five years amidst a volatile macroeconomic landscape. With its various segments, CNPF is able to address varying consumer needs, and the Company’s multi-brand approach spanning different value tiers allows it to capture demand across a broad market base. Over the past few years, CNPF has maintained its leading position in the marine and meat segments, strengthened its foothold in milk, and diversified into newer verticals such as culinary coconut milk, pet food, and plant-based alternatives to ensure the Company’s long-term growth.
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CNPF was also acknowledged by the survey’s overall respondents for having one of the best ESG Programs among Asian consumer staples companies. The Company’s framework is anchored on the 3 major pillars of Protein Delivery, Planet Preservation, and People Development.
Protein Delivery is an area intrinsically linked to business growth, given the focus on affordable nutrition. CNPF deliberately diversified its portfolio into healthier categories and improved the nutrition profile of its products as a result. In addition, the Company has constantly worked with the RSPo Foundation on the flagship Kain Po program that delivered over 12 million protein servings last year to underserved communities nationwide.
Under Planet Preservation, the Company has made investments in renewable energy, such as the expanded solar capacity in its largest manufacturing hub in General Santos. CNPF also built biomass capabilities, using coconut shells as a renewable fuel source in the coconut processing facility. In line with CNPF’s Net Zero Plastic Waste initiative to address its plastic footprint, the Company through the Century Tuna brand launched the Saving our Seas campaign in 2023 in partnership with HOPE to promote and stimulate the circular economy, supporting women micro-entrepreneurs in select coastal communities.
On People Development, CNPF has worked with smallholder coconut farmers with its 1 Million Coconut Trees campaign and Trees of Wellness program by partnering with Friends of Hope, GCash, and Robinsons Supermarket, providing seedlings and essential training to over 7,000 farmers to enhance farm productivity and promote personal empowerment.
“At Century Pacific, we continuously look for win-win opportunities that not only enable us to reach our business ambitions, but also improve the lives of our consumers and the communities we operate in. As we continue to grow, we expand our capacity to provide nutrition to the Filipino people, ensuring the longevity of our business.” Po remarked.
CNPF’s Investor Relations program was also recognized this year among the top in the sector overall, while the Investor Relations Team and Investor Relations Officer were likewise ranked highly by buy-side analysts.