San Miguel Q1 net up 150 pct yr/yr on gains

MANILA, May 15 (Reuters) - San Miguel Corp (SMCB.PS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Southeast Asia's largest food and drinks group, posted an annual profit increase of about 150 percent in the first quarter of this year, sources from the company said on Thursday, helped by one-off gains from asset sales.

San Miguel, valued at around $3.6 billion, had January-March net income of 11 billion pesos ($257 million) against 4.33 billion pesos a year earlier, the sources said.

Without the one-off gains, the company's net income would be 5.52 billion pesos.

Analysts expect San Miguel, which makes Southeast Asia's oldest beer brand, to post 2008 net income of 12.19 billion pesos, up 7 percent against forecasts of 11.39 billion pesos net income in 2007, according to Reuters Estimates.

The company's 2007 results were delayed by a month due to auditing at its meat subsidiary, Monterey Foods.

San Miguel divested from core businesses last year, saying it would venture into heavy industry, such as mining, power and infrastructure, to boost growth in its saturated home market where nine out of 10 beers sold are San Miguel brands.

San Miguel A shares (SMC.PS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), exclusive to locals, lost 21 percent in January-March, while the B shares, which are open to all investors, fell 19.3 percent. Both underperformed the main Philippine stock index .PSI which lost 18 percent. ($1=42.8 pesos)