MANILA - San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc said Thursday its net income last year reached P22.4 billion following a strong rebound in the second half.

Profits were driven by San Miguel Brewery Inc with a net income of P17.5 billion, SMFB said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

Ginebra San Miguel's net income, meanwhile, stood at P2.8 billion up 65 percent from the previous year and the "highest level ever" registered by the company, SMFB said.

San Miguel Foods delivered "double-digit performance" in 2020 as it rapidly responded to the surge in demand for prepared and packaged items, the company said.

“While 2020 was extremely challenging, our businesses were able to pivot and deliver significant volume growth for the balance of the year. These encouraging results demonstrate the company’s resilience in the face of the global crisis and positions it for a strong and stable recovery,” SMFB President and CEO Ramon Ang said.

• COVID-19 dents San Miguel Food and Beverage revenues

Its parent San Miguel Corp earlier said it has donated canned goods, poultry, flour, Nutribuns, biscuits, and coffee, among others, to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns to Filipinos.

• San Miguel churns out 24,000 'nutribuns' daily to aid poor during lockdown