LISTED consumer lifestyle and enterprise solutions provider Concepcion Industrial Corp. (CIC) is aiming to reduce its dependence on seasonal demand and sustain market growth by expanding its business-to-business (B2B) segment.
CIC Chief Executive Officer Isaias Ariel P. Fermin said during a media briefing on Tuesday in Laguna that strengthening the B2B side of the business would reduce dependence on weather-sensitive segments such as household air conditioners.
“We want to de-seasonalize the business because there’s a lot of dependency (on the weather) and it doesn’t have to happen that way,” he said.
“One of the things that we’ve done was to rebuild the B2B part of the business. The more that we go into B2B, the better it is for us,” he added.
CIC supplies and manufactures air conditioners, air conditioning systems, refrigerators, freezers, elevators, escalators, and SharkNinja home appliances.
“We are operating in a flourishing environment. Everyone knows that we are a consumer country. That is something that goes for us,” Mr. Fermin said.
He added that CIC is benefiting from ongoing mall and retail store renovations.
“There are more stores that are being refurbished because during the pandemic, not a lot of these stores and malls were remodeled. A lot of remodeling is happening, and we’re participating in those as well,” he said.
CIC Chairman and President Raul Joseph A. Concepcion said at the same briefing that the company also expects to benefit from growth in the hospitality and infrastructure sectors.
“Hotels are growing. Tourism is growing. Infrastructure is growing. The beauty is we’re, in one case, a much more diversified company, where we’re not so dependent on the weather. We have basically expanded our total markets, and we participate in a growing market,” he said.
Mr. Concepcion said CIC holds a typical market share of 25% to 30%. Its brand portfolio includes Carrier, Condura, Midea, Kelvinator, SharkNinja, and Toshiba.
“We are strong in aircons and refrigerators, but in things like small appliances, we’re only beginning. Our goal is to increase that market share,” he said.
For the first quarter, CIC recorded a 55% year-on-year increase in consolidated net income to P287.4 million, driven by higher sales.
Consolidated net sales for the period rose by 27% to P4.8 billion. Including contributions from associate Concepcion Midea, Inc., total sales grew by 30% to P6.5 billion.
CIC shares climbed by 0.93% or 14 centavos to P15.14 apiece on Wednesday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
