Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp said on Thursday its net income more than doubled in 2008, thanks to higher beer sales and asset disposals.

Manila-based San Miguel is in the process of moving into power and heavy industry from a saturated food and beverages market.

San Miguel last year sold its flagship overseas business, Australian dairy and juice firm National Foods, to Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings for $2.6 billion to help fund its shift.

As part of its diversification, the company acquired a 27 percent stake in power retailer Manila Electric Co for over $600 million and signed a deal with Qatar Telecom to explore a wireless broadband and mobile venture in the Philippines.

San Miguel said consolidated net profit surged to P19.3 billion ($400 million) last year from P8.63 billion in 2007.

Excluding extraordinary items, the company said net income was P7.22 billion, up 4 percent from 2007.

The company also gained P6.66 billion from the listing of its brewery arm in the Philippine bourse.

San Miguel, which makes nine out of 10 beers sold locally, also has an option to buy 50.1 percent of top Philippine refiner Petron Corp.

The company said net sales last year rose 14 percent to P168 billion, helping lift operating income by 26 percent to P14.8 billion.

"It's been a significant year in the continuing strategic evolution of San Miguel with our company entering the power, energy and telecommunications sectors," San Miguel President Ramon Ang said in a statement.

That evolution included the company agreeing to sell 43.3 percent of its flagship San Miguel Brewery to Kirin for $1.2 billion last month.

Ahead of the results announcement, San Miguel's A-shares, exclusive to Filipinos, close up 6.3 percent to P50.50 while its B-shares, open to all, climbed 8.5 percent to P51, outperforming the key index's 2.5 percent gain.