URC yields majority control in instant noodle joint venture

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March 14, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Gokongwei-led food and beverage company Universal Robina Corp. (URC) is yielding majority ownership in its instant noodles manufacturing joint venture with Nissin Foods Asia Co. Ltd.

URC said it has entered into a transaction with Nissin Foods Asia in which the latter will acquire an additional 21 percent equity interest in their joint venture, Nissin Universal Robina Corp. (NURC).

The acquisition will raise Nissin Foods Asia’s stake in NURC to 70 percent, while URC will pare down its ownership to 30 percent.

URC said the amount of consideration for the transaction would be finalized by December 2026 and will be paid upon satisfaction of the conditions precedent.

The deal is subject to securing prior approval from the Philippine Competition Commission and to customary closing procedural requirements.

URC said its partnership with Nissin Foods Asia is being refined to further accelerate NURC’s development.

“In recognition of Nissin Foods Asia’s global strengths in product innovation and brand-building in the noodles category, Nissin Foods Asia will assume an enhanced leadership role in these areas,” URC said.

“URC will continue to serve as the local operating partner in the Philippines, remaining deeply involved in day-to-day operations and contributing its market knowledge, strong route-to-market capabilities and execution excellence to sustain and enhance NURC’s competitive position,” it said.

NURC was established in 1994 as a joint venture wherein URC holds a 51 percent majority ownership stake and Nissin Foods Asia owning the remaining 49 percent.

The company manufactures and sells instant noodles in the Philippines and is a key player in the local market.

Upon closing, Nissin Foods Asia will consolidate NURC in its financial statements.

URC, for its part, will recognize its economic interest in NURC using the equity method in accordance with applicable local financial reporting standards.

The company said the change in financial presentation does not affect the business operation and is expected to continue without disruption during and after the transition.

URC is one of the Philippines’ largest food and beverage companies, producing iconic brands such as Great Taste, C2 Cool & Clean, Piattos, Maxx candy and Cream-O cookies.

Meanwhile, URC reported a four-percent dip in its core net income attributable to parent to P11 billion in 2025 despite seeing an uptick in sales during the year.

Net income from continuing operations declined by nine percent year-on-year to P11.6 billion, reflecting tempered foreign exchange gains versus the prior year.

Sales inched up by four percent P168 billion on the back of broad based volume growth across all divisions and continued improvements in execution.

Branded consumer foods business delivered P115 billion in sales for the year, up by five percent year-on-year, with both Philippines and international segments posting growth.

Sales of agro-industrial and commodities business improved by two percent to P53 billion, reflecting softer feeds revenue amid a smaller hog population and lower sugar average selling prices in the latter part of the year.

“2025 was a year of resilient execution. We stayed focused on our core and kept building the capabilities to grow faster than the market — delivering sustained, volume led growth across priority categories and sharper in store and route to market execution,” URC president and CEO Irwin Lee said.

“Temporary commodity headwinds, particularly prolonged abnormally high coffee input costs, compressed margins and muted reported growth, but the franchise remains robust. As coffee normalizes, we expect today’s volume momentum to translate into share gains, margin recovery and strong through cycle returns for our stakeholders,” he said.