Maniolas

“That website will be interactive. Everything will be made transparent. We’ll be doing, either big or small companies, DENR Secretary Gina Lopez said. ABS-CBN PR/File/Released MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is set to come out with a website where all audit findings concerning mining companies will be made public, its top official said. “That website will be interactive. Everything will be made transparent. We’ll be doing, either big or small companies, DENR Secretary Gina Lopez said. Apart from mining permits issued to companies, all the environmental compliance certificates will also be subjected to audit and review. We will not be selective,” she added. Lopez also plans to put up her own blog to document and discuss the audit being done by the department, as well as other activities of the DENR. She reiterated the DENR would not hesitate to shut down all mining operations that will be found to have violated environmental and health and safety laws and regulations. “If you break the law, you face the consequences of breaking the law. Whatever the law says that’s what we should follow. If you break the law, there are penalties,” Lopez said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 So far, the DENR has suspended operations of 10 mining companies. The three which were recently suspended include the Bulacan-based Ore Asia Mining Development Corp., and Mt. Sinai Exploration Mining and Development Corp. and EMIR Mineral Resources Corp. both in Homonhon, Eastern Samar. Ore Read More …

Listed technology firm MANILA, Philippines – Xurpas Inc. grew its first half net income 15 percent to P132.51 million, driven by the continued growth of its digital products and services. The company registered revenues of P736.09 million, up 136 percent year on year. Excluding non-recurring expenses related to its ongoing expansion, the firm’s core net income grew 18 percent to P136.08 million. Xurpas president and COO Raymond Racaza said the company would continue to expand its games and products. “To say we are excited about what lies ahead is a huge understatement. We continue to aggressively expand our enterprise business, but also remain extremely bullish about the prospects for our mobile consumer segment. We are looking forward to bring our next family of games and products to the market,” Racaza said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Enterprise services surged 1,113 percent to P308.87 million due to the full effect of the acquisition of Yondu Inc. The amount accounted for 42 percent of the company’s first half revenues. This reflects management’s commitment to develop multiple sustainable revenue streams, while continuing to build on it’s core business, Xurpas said. On the other hand, mobile consumer services demonstrated continued its upside potential, delivering P397.04 million in revenue, or a 63 percent increase from the same period last year. Racaza said the company has not yet fully utilized the P1.2 billion proceeds from an overnight top-up placement made in April.  “We are not yet done optimizing our avenues for growth, Read More …

The Parañaque sewer network will catch, collect and convey wastewater generated from households in nine barangays and 95 subdivisions to the company’s sewage treatment plant. MANILA, Philippines – West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. is investing P3.7 billion for a sewer network in Parañaque City, as part of efforts to expedite the provision of sewerage and sanitation services in Metro Manila. The Parañaque sewer network will catch, collect and convey wastewater generated from households in nine barangays and 95 subdivisions to the company’s sewage treatment plant. It will also ensure the proper removal of harmful elements from the wastewater and protect community health and the environment. The project involves the laying of about 65 kilometers of sewer pipes. As of last month, Maynilad had already laid around 16 kilometers of sewer pipes. “Laying new wastewater infrastructure is in line with our mandate to help reduce pollution loading into river systems,” Maynilad president and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez. Funded by the Development Bank of the Philippines and Japan International Cooperation Agency, the project is targeted for completion by the third quarter of 2017 and will benefit more than 500,000 customers. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Meanwhile, the company is also in close coordination with Parañaque City’s Traffic Management Office to manage traffic flow in worksites and minimize inconvenience to motorists and pedestrians. Maynilad is investing P42 billion until 2018 to accelerate improvement and expansion of its water and wastewater services. For 2016 alone, Maynilad is allocating P13.6 Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Chemical distribution firm SBS Philippines Corp. saw its net income surge to P910.7 million in the first half, buoyed by one-time gains from the disposal of its real estate investments. Net sales reached P517 million, up 12.8 percent year on year. Operating profit rose 18.9 percent to P113 million, driven by organic revenue growth, significant drop in finance charges on account of substantial debt pay downs, lowered operating expenses and higher income contributions from non-core assets. The strong sales performance was attributed to strong volume growth in cosmetics and pharmaceutical raw materials, feeds, and industrial chemical segments as SBS delivered on its strategy to increase market penetration and grow its business volumes through increased sales activities in these segments. Food ingredients continue to account for the bulk of the company’s sales at 35 percent, followed by industrial (32 percent), feeds (22 percent), and raw materials pharmaceuticals and cosmetics (11 percent). SBS president and CEO Gerry Tan said robust economic growth also contributed to the firm’s strong performance. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1  “The robust growth in the Philippine economy and the greater reliance of chemical manufacturers on third party distribution channels to access local customers continue to support our double-digit growth momentum for the year,” Tan said. Tan said the company was able to pare down net debt to P373.7 million in the first half as the excess cash was used to reduce debt consisting mainly of short-term liabilities. Necisto Sytengco, SBS chairman Read More …