Philippine food and beer conglomerate San Miguel Corp. said its preliminary results for 1999 showed a net income of Pso 6.02 billion compared with 3.31 billion in 1998. Earnings per share before non-recurring items were also higher at Pso 2.67, compared with 1.47 in 1998, the company said in a statement. “Excluding one-off items in 1998, the recurring net income in 1999 is 82% higher than the previous year,” the statement said. Local securities houses revealed that San Miguel“s recurring 1999 net income was estimated to come in at around Pso 5.93 billion, nearly 80% higher than the recurring net income of Pso 3.3 billion realized in 1998. San Miguel said consolidated net sales in 1999 fell to Pso 75.6 billion from the previous year“s 78.23 billion, largely due to a 56% slump in volume of the coconut oil business as a result of low copra supply. Coconut oil revenues fell to Pso 2.3 billion in 1999 from 4.5 billion in 1998. The company“s operating income surged 63% to Pso 6.7 billion in 1998 from 4.1 billion, with operating margins climbing to 10.41% from 6.14%. “These improvements were driven by lower production costs, lower overhead expenses and the price increase in beer and liquor in the second quarter,” the statement said. San Miguel said early this month it would save more than Pso 500 million yearly from the integration of its staff offices and organizational restructuring. It also estimated annual savings of US$ 10 million from the relocation early last year of its regional office for international beer operations to Manila from Hong Kong.