Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Share prices climbed yesterday as risks from abroad have started to subside, analysts said. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) surged 107.43 points, or 1.57 percent, to end at 6,932.81, while the broader All Shares index gained 53.78 points, or 1.36 percent, to finish at 4,001.22. All other indexes closed in positive territory except for the mining and oil index which declined by 126.79 points. Value turnover stood at P5.975 billion and advancers edged out decliners 108 to 60 while 47 stocks were unchanged. Analysts said that the market has become less volatile as risks from abroad have started to subside. Astro del Castillo, managing director of First Grade Finance Inc. said that as risks from overseas started to subside, investors returned to the market. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Investors were hungry for bargains today as risks from overseas started to calm investors. News about a better third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) further boosted trading. However, the pulse of the market remains cautious as shown by the thin value of stock transactions,” he said. In recent months, investors have been shying away from the market due to the lingering concerns on the slowing economy of China as well as the impending rate hike of the US Federal Reserve this December. The US Fed is widely believe to raise rates this December on improving economic indicators in the US.

MANILA, Philippines – Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) reported an increase of 25 percent in its unaudited consolidated net income to P13.3 billion in the first nine months of 2015. In a statement, the Ty-owned bank said net interest income rose to P36.3 billion, large enough to account for over 70 percent of total operating income. Total outstanding net loans and receivables grew 10 percent to P768.9 billion. Metrobank said it continued to prioritize expansion in the emerging commercial small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and retail customers which, combined, increased 19 percent year-on-year. “Both segments continue to post healthy growth, supporting the 10-percent increase in outstanding net loans and receivables,” it said. Checking account, savings account (CASA) increased 14 percent to P652.6 billion, while consolidated deposits settled at P1.2 trillion as of Sept. 30, 2015. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The bank maintained its net interest margin at 3.6 percent, one of the highest among local banks. Meanwhile, Metrobank reported P14.1 billion in non-interest income. This came from P7.4 billion in service charges, fees and commissions, which went up 11 percent from last year; P1.1 billion in net trading and foreign currency (FX) gains; and P5.7 billion in miscellaneous income. Operating expenses remained under control at P29.4 billion, relatively flat compared to the same period last year. Asset quality remains better than industry as non-performing loans (NPL) ratio registered at 1.2 percent. For the period, Metrobank set aside provisions for credit and impairment losses of Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Ayala-led semiconductor firm Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI) reported a 30 percent drop in its net earnings in the third quarter, largely due to lower revenues. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, IMI said its net income declined to $6.82 million in the July to September period from P9.78 million a year ago. Revenues fell to $205 million from $219 million due to weaker operations in China. This brings the company’s total earnings to $22 million for the first nine months, slightly higher than the $21 million recorded the previous year. IMI president and CEO Arthur Tan said the company booked an increase in nine-month profit during the nine-month period despite the global economic slowdown because of operational efficiency improvements and expansion of some high-margin customer programs. “Despite the global economic slowdown and electronics industry downturn, we remained profitable in the first nine months of the year,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Revenues decreased by four percent to $621.5 million in the nine months ending September due to the downturn in the computing and telecommunications infrastructure segments and a weak Euro which affected sales value. IMI’s Europe and Mexico operations benefitted from their robust automotive business and recorded combined revenues of $204 million from January to September, one percent higher than the year earlier. Tan said revenues would have risen by 17 percent if not for the weakening euro. In the Philippines, IMI’s EMS or electronics manufacturing services registered $168.5 Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Unilever Philippines is renewing its partnership with key organizations in the country to intensify its fight against unsafe water use and poor sanitation. Unilever said it strengthened its partnerships with the Department of Education, Manila Water Foundation, and Knowledge Channel to increase the impact of its health and well-being advocacies that target to save one billion people worldwide. “We all know that last month, the Millennium Development Goal was re-launched as the Sustainable Development Goals. These are the 17 goals that each and every one of us, as residents of this planet, must be able to identify with,” Liza Vengco, Unilever Philippines’ sustainable business and communications manager said. With its renewed partnership with the three organizations, the company said it expects to increase the impact of its initiatives by providing more Filipinos access to hand washing facilities and information on proper hand washing. In the Philippines, Unilever said around 90 percent of households do not practice proper toilet sanitation, while one out of three people do not bother to wash their hands after using the toilet. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 This, in turn, leads to various illnesses, particularly diarrheal diseases, which account for about 1.7 million deaths every year worldwide, the company said. “We hope to lock them (Unilever) in as an annual partner because we are very happy that our visions are so much aligned with theirs. In terms of reach and how we execute the program, I am very positive Read More …