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SMC books 244% higher earnings in 2014

Economy

Mar 272015

MANILA, Philippines – Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) yesterday said it booked a net recurring income of P27.9 billion last year, 244 percent higher than 2013, on the back of robust contribution across its traditional and new businesses. SMC said the growth excludes the one-time gain registered in 2013 from the sale of its Meralco shares, which brought the conglomerate’s net income at that time to P50.7 billion. Consolidated sales revenues, meanwhile, improved five percent year-on-year to P782 billion as majority of its businesses posted higher sales. SMC’s flagship beer business, San Miguel Brewery Inc. (SMB), saw its net income rise eight percent year-on-year to P13.5 billion in 2014, while sales revenue grew five percent to P79 billion “Domestically, SMB implemented new campaigns and relevant consumer and trade programs to boost equity and beer consumption. Meanwhile, Beer International operations introduced Cerveza Negra and San Mig Light in draught formats and further pushed exports to the overseas market,” SMC said. Liquor unit Ginebra San Miguel Inc., meanwhile, posted an operating income of P358 million, a turnaround from 2013’s loss of P793 million, on improved volume sales and lower costs. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Food arm San Miguel Pure Foods Company Inc. likewise enjoyed brisk sales last year as revenues breached the P100 billion mark for the first time at P103 billion. For its packaging business, SMC said its packaging group’s operating income grew 11 percent year-on-year to P2.3 billion, even as revenues declined four percent Read More …

Tech firm Xurpas enters Indonesia

Economy

Mar 272015

MANILA, Philippines – Listed technology firm Xurpas Inc. has made its entry into the Indonesian market with the acquisition of a 49 percent stake in IT firm PT Sembilan Digital Investama (SDI) for $250,000. Xurpas told the local bourse that it had signed a binding term sheet which gives it nearly half of the ownership as well as full management control of SDI. The firm said the acquisition would also give Xurpas access to and control of PT Ninelives Interactive, a mobile content and distribution company, which SDI owns. Ninelives is expected to give Xurpas access to a huge market for the company’s games and other services. “Indonesia is one of the most exciting mobile markets in the world with close to 300 million subscribers, making it the fourth largest mobile market in the world. Just like the Philippines, majority of users are still on prepaid but they are rapidly moving away from fixed connections in favor of smartphones and mobile data. The striking similarity between the Indonesian market and ours makes it an ideal location to establish another stronghold,” said Nix Nolledo, president and chief executive officer of Xurpas Inc. Ninelives is the third company Xurpas has acquired or invested in since its initial public offering in December last year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The first was through a $740,800-acquisition of 21.78-percent stake in Singapore IT company Altitude Games Pte Ltd. Following Altitude was Storm Flex Systems Inc., of which Xurpas now owns a Read More …

Ex rural bank found guilty of forging BSP documents

General

Mar 272015

Ex rural bank found guilty of forging BSP documents

MANILA, Philippines – A former rural bank president has been found guilty by a municipal trial court for submitting falsified documents to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. In a statement, the BSP said Pepito Miradora Cilos, former president of the closed Rural Bank of Milaor (Camarines Sur) Inc. was sentenced by the 5th Municipal Trial Court of Camaligan-Gainza-Milaor, Camarines Sur to imprisonment and payment of fines. The prison sentence consists of a four months and one day of arresto mayor to two years, four months, and one day of prision correccional for the falsification of commercial documents and a one year imprisonment for false statements. The central bank earlier filed the charges following its investigation on the transactions of the Rural Bank of Milaor. The BSP said the cases were from the review of four loans amounting to a total of P6.5 million granted by the rural bank in May 2008. The central bank said the four loans were found “questionable and fraudulent” by its Office of Special Investigation as the borrowers could not be located, the land title used in getting one of the loans is contentious, and the other land titles used for three of the loans were issued only a few months after the loans were approved. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Moreover, the BSP pointed out the loan documents were “haphazardly processed” and were even lacking in documentation, and the Community Tax Certificates of the borrowers were not issued by the concerned Read More …

Belle profit drops 30% to P2.56 B

Economy

Mar 272015

MANILA, Philippines – Profits of Henry Sy-led Belle Corp. slipped by nearly a third last year due to lower non-recurring gains. In a regulatory filing, the listed company said consolidated net income decreased 30 percent to P2.56 billion last year from P3.64 billion in 2013. Belle said the decline was brought about by the P1.5 billion in higher net non-recurring gains booked in 2013. “Excluding non-recurring items, Belle’s consolidated net income would have increased by approximately P 464 million from P572 million in 2013 to P1.04 billion in 2014,” the firm said. Belle said it was able to achieve record operating revenues of P3.16 billion in 2014, 21 percent higher than the operating revenues in 2013 of P2.62 billion. With the increase in revenues, Belle said recurring operating earnings last year rose 62 percent to P1.4 billion from P857 million the previous year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “The company’s operating growth in 2014 was attributable to higher revenue from its lease of the City of Dreams Manila property to Philippine entities controlled by Melco Crown Entertainment Limited (MCE), higher income from sales of real estate and increased income from its listed subsidiaries — Premium Leisure Corp. (PLC) and Pacific Online Systems Corp.,” Belle said. Belle’s principal assets include land and buildings located at Pagcor Entertainment City in Parañaque City which are being leased on a long-term basis to MCE. The firm’s property, which has a size of 6.2 hectares and more than 30 hectares in Read More …

Infrastructure key to peace in Mindanao – Ang

Economy

Mar 242015

Infrastructure key to peace in Mindanao – Ang

Ang says roads and infrastructures have transformed ‘no man’s land’ areas like Cavite, Batangas, Laguna and Quezon into the progressive provinces that they are today. MANILA, Philippines – Seeking a long-term solution to peace and order issues in Mindanao? Ramon S. Ang, head of one of the country’s biggest conglomerates, said building more infrastructure in the island is the key. “The solution is to build more roads and more infrastructure. Naturally, the peace and order problem will be solved,” said Ang, president of food-to-infrastructure conglomerate San Miguel Corp., in an interview on the sidelines of the Euromoney Philippines Investment Forum yesterday. Citing provinces such as Cavite, Batangas, Laguna and Quezon as examples, Ang said these areas were considered as a “no man’s land” for a time. “So what happened? They built roads and infrastructure. The same with Mindanao. If we develop that then the economic status and the life of the people there will improve. If you look at them now, they are having a hard time because infrastructure is lacking,” Ang said. “The government should bid out port, airport and other infrastructure in Mindanao and the private sector should be the one to construct them,” he added. Ang said SMC intends to participate in every infra-related government bidding in hopes of making the country’s facilities at par with its Asian neighbors. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 For its part, Ang said SMC has earmarked close to P170 billion for the construction of modern toll roads Read More …

Asean members start talks on banking integration

Economy

Mar 242015

Asean members start talks on banking integration

MANILA, Philippines – Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have already begun discussions on banks wanting to operate outside of their home country following the finalization of a banking integration framework, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said. “(Other members) have already started to discuss bilaterally with other Asean members. We also have initial (discussions with other members) but I still cannot reveal them because they are very preliminary,” central bank Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said. This came following the conclusion of an Asean Banking Integration Framework (ABIF) during a meeting of the member countries’ central bankers that ended on Saturday. Tetangco said that a framework for a Qualified Asean Bank (QAB) has also been established during the meeting, which basically updated the ABIF agreed upon by member countries back in December. “The framework would now allow a bank from any of the Asean members to operate within Asean but there will be conditions… Now the next step would be for governments to agree on a bilateral (accord),” Tetangco said. This means that before any Asean bank could operate in another member’s jurisdiction, regulators from both countries would have to agree on a set of rules for the QAB. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 At the same time, Tetangco stressed that banks aiming to be a QAB should comply with international standards on capital and other financial reforms. Among the ABIF’s objectives are creating strong and well-managed banks in the region, exposing the Read More …

Smart eyes data bundles for mobile access to videos

Economy

Mar 242015

Smart eyes data bundles for mobile access to videos

MANILA, Philippines – Smart Communications Inc., the flagship wireless arm of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), is set to launch a set of data bundles allowing both postpaid and prepaid subscribers to enjoy videos on their mobile devices. Charles Lim, executive vice president and Wireless Consumer Division head at Smart, said in a statement that the new data bundles would allow subscribers to watch YouTube videos as well as content from Dailymotion, Vimeo and Viewstream on their mobile phones for as low as P5. “Smart’s groundbreaking online video offer for YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion and Viewstream reinforces our campaign to provide more affordable access to the content our subscribers love,” Lim said. He pointed out that the company is committed to “provide users with the best content and entertainment services available at great value so that they can enjoy videos on their mobile devices anytime, anywhere.” Google Southeast Asia and India vice president and managing director Rajan Anandan said the partnership with Smart would create a more affordable way for people to watch videos on mobile “We want to make sure we are making YouTube as enjoyable as possible for our growing base of mobile users in the Philippines. We hope Filipinos will be able to enjoy a better YouTube experience across devices, either at home or on the go,” Anandan said Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 This is just the latest in Smart’s bid to provide the Internet for all of its subscribers’ Read More …

ADB says Phl growth to stay above 6%

Economy

Mar 242015

MANILA, Philippines – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has maintained a cautious growth outlook for the Philippines at 6.4 percent this year and 6.3 percent in 2016. ADB country director for the Philippines Richard Bolt said the 2016 outlook is slightly lower than this year due to external uncertainties such as the economies of Japan and the US. “The 2016 outlook reflects investors’ cautiousness amid uncertainties due to the elections,” Bolt said in a press briefing yesterday. Business and investments generally take a wait-and-see attitude towards national elections. Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 6.1 percent in 2014, marking several consecutive years of over six percent growth. The ADB official said that inflation is forecast at a lower 2.8 percent this year, before rising to 3.3 percent in 2016. Bolt said most of the positive drivers of growth last year would remain major factors this year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Factors that powered private consumption in 2014, such as growth in employment, modest inflation, and higher inflow of remittance, are expected to support solid growth this year,” he added. Growth is projected to accelerate this year on buoyant private consumption, a solid outlook for investment and exports, and recovery in government pending. However, the ADB said the Philippines need to stimulate investment an generate more and better jobs. “Even when the employment rate fell to 6.6 percent in January 2015, the lowest in 10 years, 2.6 million people remained jobless, half of them aged 15 Read More …

Sufficient room to tweak rates – BSP

Economy

Mar 242015

MANILA, Philippines – Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said yesterday the manageable inflation rate and strong economic growth provide “sufficient room” for monetary officials to adjust policy settings if need arises. “Given the positive alignment between inflation growth and augmented government resources as a result of fiscal consolidation, both monetary and fiscal sectors have sufficient room to make policy adjustments as warranted,” Tetangco said during the Euromoney Philippines Investment Forum 2015 in Makati city. Inflation stood at an average rate of 2.4 percent in the first two months of the year, within the government’s two- to four-percent target for this year. Tetangco said inflation expectations remain “well-anchored.” At the same time, Tetangco said the economy is seen to continue to grow in a stable inflation environment. “The government’s target of seven- to eight-percent (growth) is attainable as domestic demand remains firm and supported by brewing production efficiency and robust labor market dynamics,” Tetangco said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Philippine economic growth decelerated to 6.1 percent last year from a strong 7.2 percent in 2013. The figure was also short of the government’s 6.5 to 7.5 percent target but was among the fastest in Asia during the period. For this year and in 2016, the government hopes to grow the economy by seven to eight percent. The central bank last month kept key policy rates steady as inflation was forecast to remain within the target bands for this year and the next. Read More …

China’s weak factory activity dampens PSEi

General

Mar 242015

China’s weak factory activity dampens PSEi

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s benchmark stock index fell yesterday behind a disappointing manufacturing data from the world’s second largest economy. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined 0.15 percent or 11.55 points to close at 7,828.94 while the broader all shares index was slipped 0.24 percent or 10.96 points to 4,526.82. With no major market mover locally for the day, analysts said the local market searched for answers abroad and found a Chinese factory data which dropped to an 11-month low. As a result, decliners pummeled advancers, 112 to 68, while 44 stocks were unchanged Turnover value, however, increased slightly to P9.8 billion. Asian markets were mixed, with the bigger Nikkei of Japan tumbling 0.2 percent. Wall Street indexes, meanwhile, were all in the red overnight. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Volatile swings from Wall Street did not sit well with buyers,” said Jason Escartin, analyst at F Yap Securities Inc. “While the index hold within consolidation range between 7,700 to 7,862 level, we cannot discount a test of newer highs towards the 8,000 level from select PSE-index stocks. Meanwhile, a break below the range would imply a test of major support levels,” Unicapital Securities Inc. said in a report.

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