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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Stock News 2013: China's Life Insurance Companies

Insurance
Insurance (Photo credit: Christopher S. Penn)
China’s life insurance companies expect a lower growth on premium in the next year or two. Over the long term, insurance companies will benefit as they adapt to the changes.

Sally Yim of Moody’s said, “For now, the sector is experiencing the constraints from its previous focus on short-term and savings-type products, as well as a significant reliance on the bancassurance channel.”

Some of Moody’s assumptions are:
  • Premium growth will lag behind China’s GDP growth
  • Profitability will remain a challenge due to rising expenditures
  • Insurance companies are exposed to the volatility of equity markets
  • New businesses will be limited due to low premium growth
  • In 2012, premiums were at 4.5%. Growth in household incomes will generate premium growths of 7.5% to 8.5% in 2013 and 7.0% to 8.0% in 2014.
The expected single digit low growth is driven by:
  • Narrow platform for insurance companies
  • Wealth products sold by banks as alternative to insurance products
  • Increase in competition as more Chinese banks distribute their own insurance products
  • Chinese insurance companies are moving toward risk-based liberalization of investments and products. This include moving away from low-margin savings-type products and focus on protection-type products.

http://pinoyfiq.com/pinoyfiq/financial-education/state-of-life-insurance-companies-of-china
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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Stock News 2013: Maynilad water rates to go down by P4.79 per cubic meter

Population densities of Rizal localities, 1,00...
Population densities of Rizal localities, 1,000 people/km2 or more in red (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Customers of the Maynilad Water Services Inc. will now enjoy a 10-percent drop in the average rate per cubic meter instead of the previously announced hike resulting from fluctuations in the foreign exchange rate.

The concessionaire for water services in Greater Manila Area’s west zone said on Thursday the average rate would decrease by P4.79 per cubic meter, thanks to a P978-million gain in a financing transaction that was closed last March.

Back then, when the peso traded at an average of P40.71 to a US dollar, Maynilad refinanced over $120 million in loans. It took the firm some three months to figure out the exercise’s impact on rates.

The new forex-influenced rate adjustment, which will take effect on July 6 and will be good until yearend, already takes into account the 17-centavo hike announced earlier this week.

This reduction will be reflected in the bills for August until January 2014.

Last Monday, Maynilad announced that its average rates would slightly increase in the third quarter due to the weakening of the peso against other currencies.

But now, average and all-in rates including value-added tax and other charges will go down to P41.77 per cubic meter from P46.56.

Lifeline customers who consume 10 cubic meters or less every month will pay P11.01 less in their August bill. The average household, which use up to 30 cubic meters, will enjoy a reduction of P85.32 in their total bill.

Under the concession agreement with the government, Maynilad must pass on to customers the gains or losses arising from the payment of foreign currency-denominated loans from banks and concession fees.

http://business.inquirer.net/128157/maynilad-says-water-rates-will-come-down-in-july
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Monday, June 24, 2013

Stock News 2013: First Pacific keen on Angat plant

Photo of Manny
Photo of Manny (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., headed by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan, confirmed that it was in talks with Korea Water Resources Corp. on a potential partnership involving the 246-megawatt (MW) Angat hydropower plant in Bulacan.

Pangilinan, who serves as managing director of First Pacific, said his group had spoken with officials of Korea Water.

“We visited Daejeon in Korea,” Pangilinan said on Friday, referring to the South Korean company’s headquarters. “They have not made a decision on which group to partner with.”

First Pacific is an investment holding firm controlled by Indonesia’s Salim family and whose investments are mainly located in the Philippines. Through local units, it has a controlling stake in Maynilad Water Services Inc., which supplies water to the west zone of Metro Manila and nearby provinces, and a 48-percent stake in Manila Electric Co., the country’s biggest electricity retailer.

First Pacific was among the interested groups when the Angat hydroelectric plant was auctioned in 2010.

At the time, it had partnered with rival Ayala Corp., which owns the Philippine capital’s east zone concessionaire Manila Water Corp., as well as the Lopez group in a joint bid against other players like San Miguel Corp., Consunji-led DMCI and the Aboitiz Group.

The state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) eventually announced that Korea Water submitted the highest bid of $440.8 million.

In May 2010, however, the Supreme Court issued a “status quo ante order” effectively blocking the planned privatization of Angat Dam’s hydroelectric power plant.

The high court only last year rendered as valid and legal the sale of the Angat power plant to Korea Water. But the plant has yet to be turned over as the government and Korea Water finalize certain details under a so-called water protocol.

http://business.inquirer.net/127479/first-pacific-keen-on-angat-plant
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Sunday, June 23, 2013

Stock News 2013: Asia Brewery goes into yoghurt and soy milk

English: an Malaysia Product Soy Milk ... Enri...
English: an Malaysia Product Soy Milk ... Enriched with high calcium . showing an Soy Milk Envelope and a glass of that. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The LT Group, the investment holding firm of tycoon Lucio Tan, said it is looking to expand its food and beverage network into soy milk and pasteurized yoghurt.

LT Group head Michael Tan said at the company’s annual stockholders meeting on Wednesday, June 19, that they are looking to increase their market share by introducing new lines of soy milk and pasteurized yoghurt.

In December 2012, Asia Brewery Inc (ABI), a subsidiary of the LT Group announced its partnership with one of Spain’s biggest dairy company, Gulpo leche Pascual, to import pasteurized yoghurt and soy milk to meet the rising demand of dairy and soy products.

Grupo Leche Pascual president Tomas Pascual said at the launch that 2.6 million kilograms or 1 million cases of Creamy Delight Pasteurized Yogurt will be imported from its factory in Spain throughout 2013.

The next step, according to Tan, is to establish a manufacturing facility in the Philippines which will manufacture enough product to be exported.

“We’re importing it right now so once it gets to critical volume we will begin to manufacture. Gulpo Leche Pascual, has identified the Philippines as the manufacturing base they would like to have in South East Asia,” said Tan.

This comes as part of ABI’s new strategy to increase domestic market share, tap into new overseas markets and launch new products.

http://www.rappler.com/business
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Saturday, June 22, 2013

Stock News 2013: P20B resort rising in Subic

A beach picnic resort at Subic Bay, Philippines
A beach picnic resort at Subic Bay, Philippines (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A Korean-owned resort is raising a P20-billion tourism complex that would include a hotel and convention center here, the top official of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said.

Roberto Garcia, SBMA chairman and administrator, said the first phase of the project, which will be undertaken by Resom Resort Philippines, involves the development of a prime waterfront property, which used to serve as a mini-golf area spanning 2 hectares. The area has a 6,000-square-meter buildup site.

Garcia, on June 13, signed a lease development contract with Sang So Shin, chair of Resom Resort Philippines.

The project will rise on the same property offered for the $120-million Ocean 9 Casino and Hotel Resort project in 2008, from which architect and urban planner Felino Palafox Jr. withdrew after he discovered that the project could displace 300 trees. Ocean 9 later pulled out of the project.

Sought for comment about the fate of the trees in the project site, Garcia said: “Resom told us that they will not cut any trees. They will use only the buildup area.”

Garcia said Resom has committed to invest P1.2 billion for the construction of a 300-room luxury hotel furnished with convention facilities, a pool, spa, restaurants and other support facilities.

The second phase of the project would cover the development of the Resom City tourism complex involving several properties in the Naval Magazine area spanning 300 ha, he said.

“This will include the construction of a world-class resort complex that will have hotels, condominiums, a theme park, villas, casino and gaming operations, a water park and spa, health and wellness center, duty-free shopping and a championship golf course. This phase involves an investment commitment of around P19 billion and is expected to take around four years to complete,” Garcia said in a statement.

Shin said the Subic Resom City project would be the company’s centerpiece development.

Resom owns and operates four world-class resorts: Ocean Castle, Resom Waterpark and Spa, and Forest Villa, all in South Korea, and a championship golf course and resort in Weihai, China.

Shin said Resom develops its resorts by keeping and preserving the environment as a main priority.

http://business.inquirer.net/127495/p20b-resort-rising-in-subic
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Friday, June 21, 2013

Stock News 2013: Stocks dive as Fed signals end to easy money

The Federal Reserve: The Biggest Scam In History
The Federal Reserve: The Biggest Scam In History (Photo credit: CityGypsy11)
Local financial markets on Thursday were shaken after the US Federal Reserve signaled that the regime of easy money—which has inflated asset valuations in emerging markets—would end by next year.

But Philippine economic managers called for calm, saying that a more solid recovery of the US economy would benefit the Philippines in the long run.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index on Thursday shed 186.53 points, or 2.86 percent, to close at 6,326.67, tracking the slump across global markets.

The peso, along with other Asian currencies, also weakened following the announcement of the US Fed Open Market Committee (FOMC). The local currency hit an intraday low of 43.76 against the dollar before it closed at 43.80—its weakest level since January of last year.

BDO chief market strategist Jonathan Ravelas said local investors were adjusting to the peso’s weakness.

“Most forecasts were below 40:$1. Very few believed [the peso] would depreciate,” Ravelas said.

BDO projected the peso to end the year at 42.10 against the dollar.

In a research note, investment bank BofA Merrill Lynch described 2013 to be the “high watermark” of the liquidity era.

“The FOMC statement was more hawkish than expected. Bernanke anticipates tapering to begin late this year and QE (quantitative easing) to end by the middle of next year. Our economists see the Fed’s forecasts as optimistic and low inflation as a growing concern. So, while the likelihood of fourth quarter tapering appears to have increased, they still believe early 2014 tapering is the more likely outcome,” Merrill Lynch said.

Financial markets have begun pricing the possibility of the US Fed unwinding its aggressive bond-buyback program, or QE, weeks ago, dragging down the local stock index by as much as 17 percent from the recent peak of around 7,400.

But many analysts say that, eventually, markets will again focus on the country’s fundamentals which, in turn, will boost Philippine assets.

“The situation could be a result of quick reaction to the recent announcement of the Fed’s view and policy intention,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said in a text message to reporters. “The market seems to be still digesting the full meaning and impact of the Fed view.”

Guinigundo said a stronger US economy should lead to an increase in foreign direct investments (OFW) and remittances to the Philippines. It should also aid in the recovery of the Philippine exports sector. The US is one of the Philippines’ largest trading partners.

http://business.inquirer.net/128263/stocks-dive-as-fed-signals-end-to-easy-money
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Stock News 2013: Stocks dive as Fed signals end to easy money

The Federal Reserve: The Biggest Scam In History
The Federal Reserve: The Biggest Scam In History (Photo credit: CityGypsy11)
Local financial markets on Thursday were shaken after the US Federal Reserve signaled that the regime of easy money—which has inflated asset valuations in emerging markets—would end by next year.

But Philippine economic managers called for calm, saying that a more solid recovery of the US economy would benefit the Philippines in the long run.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index on Thursday shed 186.53 points, or 2.86 percent, to close at 6,326.67, tracking the slump across global markets.

The peso, along with other Asian currencies, also weakened following the announcement of the US Fed Open Market Committee (FOMC). The local currency hit an intraday low of 43.76 against the dollar before it closed at 43.80—its weakest level since January of last year.

BDO chief market strategist Jonathan Ravelas said local investors were adjusting to the peso’s weakness.

“Most forecasts were below 40:$1. Very few believed [the peso] would depreciate,” Ravelas said.

BDO projected the peso to end the year at 42.10 against the dollar.

In a research note, investment bank BofA Merrill Lynch described 2013 to be the “high watermark” of the liquidity era.

“The FOMC statement was more hawkish than expected. Bernanke anticipates tapering to begin late this year and QE (quantitative easing) to end by the middle of next year. Our economists see the Fed’s forecasts as optimistic and low inflation as a growing concern. So, while the likelihood of fourth quarter tapering appears to have increased, they still believe early 2014 tapering is the more likely outcome,” Merrill Lynch said.

Financial markets have begun pricing the possibility of the US Fed unwinding its aggressive bond-buyback program, or QE, weeks ago, dragging down the local stock index by as much as 17 percent from the recent peak of around 7,400.

But many analysts say that, eventually, markets will again focus on the country’s fundamentals which, in turn, will boost Philippine assets.

“The situation could be a result of quick reaction to the recent announcement of the Fed’s view and policy intention,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said in a text message to reporters. “The market seems to be still digesting the full meaning and impact of the Fed view.”

Guinigundo said a stronger US economy should lead to an increase in foreign direct investments (OFW) and remittances to the Philippines. It should also aid in the recovery of the Philippine exports sector. The US is one of the Philippines’ largest trading partners.

http://business.inquirer.net/128263/stocks-dive-as-fed-signals-end-to-easy-money
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Stock News 2013: Stocks dive as Fed signals end to easy money

The Federal Reserve: The Biggest Scam In History
The Federal Reserve: The Biggest Scam In History (Photo credit: CityGypsy11)
Local financial markets on Thursday were shaken after the US Federal Reserve signaled that the regime of easy money—which has inflated asset valuations in emerging markets—would end by next year.

But Philippine economic managers called for calm, saying that a more solid recovery of the US economy would benefit the Philippines in the long run.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index on Thursday shed 186.53 points, or 2.86 percent, to close at 6,326.67, tracking the slump across global markets.

The peso, along with other Asian currencies, also weakened following the announcement of the US Fed Open Market Committee (FOMC). The local currency hit an intraday low of 43.76 against the dollar before it closed at 43.80—its weakest level since January of last year.

BDO chief market strategist Jonathan Ravelas said local investors were adjusting to the peso’s weakness.

“Most forecasts were below 40:$1. Very few believed [the peso] would depreciate,” Ravelas said.

BDO projected the peso to end the year at 42.10 against the dollar.

In a research note, investment bank BofA Merrill Lynch described 2013 to be the “high watermark” of the liquidity era.

“The FOMC statement was more hawkish than expected. Bernanke anticipates tapering to begin late this year and QE (quantitative easing) to end by the middle of next year. Our economists see the Fed’s forecasts as optimistic and low inflation as a growing concern. So, while the likelihood of fourth quarter tapering appears to have increased, they still believe early 2014 tapering is the more likely outcome,” Merrill Lynch said.

Financial markets have begun pricing the possibility of the US Fed unwinding its aggressive bond-buyback program, or QE, weeks ago, dragging down the local stock index by as much as 17 percent from the recent peak of around 7,400.

But many analysts say that, eventually, markets will again focus on the country’s fundamentals which, in turn, will boost Philippine assets.

“The situation could be a result of quick reaction to the recent announcement of the Fed’s view and policy intention,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said in a text message to reporters. “The market seems to be still digesting the full meaning and impact of the Fed view.”

Guinigundo said a stronger US economy should lead to an increase in foreign direct investments (OFW) and remittances to the Philippines. It should also aid in the recovery of the Philippine exports sector. The US is one of the Philippines’ largest trading partners.

http://business.inquirer.net/128263/stocks-dive-as-fed-signals-end-to-easy-money
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Stock News 2013: Stocks dive as Fed signals end to easy money

The Federal Reserve: The Biggest Scam In History
The Federal Reserve: The Biggest Scam In History (Photo credit: CityGypsy11)
Local financial markets on Thursday were shaken after the US Federal Reserve signaled that the regime of easy money—which has inflated asset valuations in emerging markets—would end by next year.

But Philippine economic managers called for calm, saying that a more solid recovery of the US economy would benefit the Philippines in the long run.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index on Thursday shed 186.53 points, or 2.86 percent, to close at 6,326.67, tracking the slump across global markets.

The peso, along with other Asian currencies, also weakened following the announcement of the US Fed Open Market Committee (FOMC). The local currency hit an intraday low of 43.76 against the dollar before it closed at 43.80—its weakest level since January of last year.

BDO chief market strategist Jonathan Ravelas said local investors were adjusting to the peso’s weakness.

“Most forecasts were below 40:$1. Very few believed [the peso] would depreciate,” Ravelas said.

BDO projected the peso to end the year at 42.10 against the dollar.

In a research note, investment bank BofA Merrill Lynch described 2013 to be the “high watermark” of the liquidity era.

“The FOMC statement was more hawkish than expected. Bernanke anticipates tapering to begin late this year and QE (quantitative easing) to end by the middle of next year. Our economists see the Fed’s forecasts as optimistic and low inflation as a growing concern. So, while the likelihood of fourth quarter tapering appears to have increased, they still believe early 2014 tapering is the more likely outcome,” Merrill Lynch said.

Financial markets have begun pricing the possibility of the US Fed unwinding its aggressive bond-buyback program, or QE, weeks ago, dragging down the local stock index by as much as 17 percent from the recent peak of around 7,400.

But many analysts say that, eventually, markets will again focus on the country’s fundamentals which, in turn, will boost Philippine assets.

“The situation could be a result of quick reaction to the recent announcement of the Fed’s view and policy intention,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said in a text message to reporters. “The market seems to be still digesting the full meaning and impact of the Fed view.”

Guinigundo said a stronger US economy should lead to an increase in foreign direct investments (OFW) and remittances to the Philippines. It should also aid in the recovery of the Philippine exports sector. The US is one of the Philippines’ largest trading partners.

http://business.inquirer.net/128263/stocks-dive-as-fed-signals-end-to-easy-money
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Stock News 2013: MRT, LRT fares may go up in August

Manila MRT Ayala Station in Makati City
Manila MRT Ayala Station in Makati City (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A long-overdue fare increase at Metro Manila’s three elevated rail systems could take effect as early as August as the government seeks to recover part of its operating costs from the heavily subsidized train lines, according to Secretary Joseph Abaya of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC).

But Abaya said in a round-table discussion with INQUIRER editors and reporters on Wednesday that the planned P10 average increase for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Lines 1 and 2 and the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 would be done in two equal stages through 2014.

This means fares, which were last adjusted in the early 2000s, will increase by P5 in 2013 while the second P5 increase will kick in next year.

“This increase has been long delayed so we are about to execute it. The matrix for LRT 1 requires us to catch up,” Abaya said.

“It was discussed a year ago in the budget hearing and it was taken as a set, all three railway lines,” he added.

“It should happen planning-wise in August or within the year.”

The announcement of the fare increases comes amid severe criticism of the LRT-MRT operations—coaches with passengers woefully packed like sardines most times of the day and long queues to the stations during rush hours.

For example, MRT 3 was designed to serve 350,000 passengers per day, but some 600,000 people cram the system daily.

A 1.3-kilometer stretch of the line on north Edsa—from Muñoz to Trinoma—has yet to be connected, three years into the Aquino administration.

Former Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas proposed a fare increase earlier in 2011, but it was met with opposition from critics who pointed out that managing public transport was a government function.

Critics say that no mass transportation system anywhere in the world makes money, quite apart from Hong Kong. But in this Chinese enclave, revenues come mainly from shop rentals in the mass transit railway stations, they add.

Reports showed earlier that the entire P10 average fare hike will happen this year but the DOTC secretary said the agency decided to “break it up” into two parts over two years.

Even with the fare increase, the LRT lines and MRT 3 come out “cheaper” than rates charged by bus operators, which are pegged at P40 per passenger, Abaya said.

The government is calculating that ridership at the train lines, which serve over 1.3 million passengers daily, will not be substantially affected by the rate increase.

The current fare at MRT, which runs through Edsa, Metro Manila’s main highway, is pegged at a maximum of P15 per passenger. For LRT 1, passengers are charged up to P20 each for a single journey; for LRT 2, the rate is pegged at P15.

http://business.inquirer.net/128269/mrt-lrt-fares-may-go-up-in-august-abaya
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Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Stock News 2013: UCPB income up 18% in 1st quarter

English: The new logo of United Coconut Plante...
English: The new logo of United Coconut Planters Bank (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) posted an 18 percent increase in net income in the first quarter to P1.04 billion from P883.7 million in the same period last year.

In a statement, UCPB president and chief executive officer Jeronimo Kilayko said the growth in income was mainly driven by a 51 percent improvement in non-interest income.

Kilayko also noted a 70 percent increase in trading and securities gain from treasury activities to P 829.1 million.

Likewise, income from trust operations increased 42 percent to reach P 32.4 million.

Total loans increased 16 percent to P91.1 billion from the same period a year before, with consumer loans growing at a stronger pace of 30 percent as a result of the bank’s more aggressive stance towards marketing its consumer loan products.

“We have placed a great deal of focus on the needs of our customers and meticulously worked to provide them with a range of investment products tailored to their requirements,” Kilayko said.

“We believe that our close relationship with our customers allow us to customize and respond to their needs accordingly.”

The bank’s revenue growth continues to outpace the slight increase in operating expense of P1.32 billion, a minimal increase of 4.6 percent over the first quarter of 2012.

The combined performance of revenue and operating expense components enabled a robust increase in net income.

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Monday, June 3, 2013

Stock News 2013: Vista Land hikes capex to P20 billion

English: Manny Villar was seen on Tinalak/T'na...
English: Manny Villar was seen on Tinalak/T'nalak Fiesta Street Parade and Street Dancing taken on South Cotabato SMRAA, Koronadal City during T'nalak Festival on July 18,2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The real estate unit of the Villar family is jacking up its capital spending to as much as P20 billion this year to take advantage of the robust demand.

Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. will roll out more residential projects in the provinces in the next two to three months, its top official said.

“We are prepared to spend more than P18.5 billion....We might spend up to P20 billion,” Vista Land chairman and founder Sen. Manuel B. Villar said on the sidelines of the topping off ceremony of the first building of Wil Tower Mall.

Villar said Vista Land is looking to increase its capital expenditures to take advantage of increasing demand for house and lot units.

“We are going to launch 14 new projects in the next two to three months,” Villar said.

For this year, Vista Land will launch residential projects in 12 new locations. As of the first quarter, Vista Land had a presence in 31 provinces and 63 cities and municipalities around the country.

“We are going to open in Marbel in South Cotabato, Sta. Maria in Bulacan, Kalibo in Aklan, Silang in Cavite and Roxas City [in Capiz],” Villar said.

For 2013, Vista Land will launch P30 billion worth of projects offering 15,000 residential units, up from P25 billion and 12,000 units last year.

Villar said the bulk of Vista Land’s sales will come from the house and lot units given the strong demand from end-users and first time home owners.

Vista Land targets to grow its reservation sales by 15 to 20 percent to as much as P50 billion this year from P40.09 billion in 2012.

In terms of high-rise projects, Vista Land has nearly sold out units in the first building of the 42-storey Wil Tower Mall in Quezon City.

The project, in partnership with variety show host and celebrity Willie Revillame, includes a four-storey shopping mall.

Villar said the second tower that will require P1.5 billion in capital spending will be launched when the first building is sold out.

Villar said adjacent lots can also be developed to complement the Wil Tower Mall, which sells units at P3 million to P6 million each.

Vista Land will also expand its portfolio of shopping malls.

“Vista Land has four right now and we are putting up another four,” Villar said.

Specifically, the listed property firm will put up the new phases of Vista Mall in Presidio in Sucat and Evia in Daang Hari. It will also build a Vista Mall in San Fernando in Pampanga and in Antipolo.

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Sunday, June 2, 2013

Stock News 2013: PAL won’t be folded into LT Group

PAL Express
PAL Express (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Flagship carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will no longer be consolidated into the listed umbrella firm of beer and tobacco magnate Lucio Tan as it focuses on being a consumer-related conglomerate.

“We’re not putting it in. PAL will not be part of the LT Group. It’s part of the family holdings but not the LT Group,” Michael G. Tan, president of LT Group, told reporters.

Tan said PAL as an aviation company is different from the basket of consumer-related businesses held by LT Group.

“Essentially, we are focused on being a consumer firm,” said LT Group chief financial officer Jose Gabriel D. Olives.

In October, LT Group’s board of directors approved the deferment of the acquisition of the aviation unit. Concerns were raised over the negative effect of loss-making PAL in LT Group’s books.

LT Group, formerly Tanduay Holdings Inc., earlier planned to acquire 49.84 percent and 50.97 percent of Philippine Airlines Inc. and Air Philippines Corp. (now PAL Express), respectively.

Tan said PAL will not be consolidated into the conglomerate even it if becomes profitable already.

In the nine months of its fiscal year ending March 2012, the airline’s parent firm PAL Holdings Inc. trimmed its losses by 24 percent to P2.74 billion compared with P3.59 billion as total revenues climbed by 2.4 percent to P55.68 billion from P54.38 billion on the back of higher revenues from its passenger and cargo businesses.

PAL, which is 49-percent owned by diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp., is embarking an expansion program as it plans to further widen its global footprint to include the Middle East, Europe and Australia. It plans to acquire up to 100 brand new aircraft in line with its bid to reclaim the top slot in the local airline sector.

The decision not to include PAL in the listed holding firm was finalized last year, Olives said.

LT Group, which completed its consolidation program last year, is into beer (Asia Brewery Inc.), distillery (Tanduay Distillers Inc.), real estate (Eton Properties Philippines Inc.), banking (Philippine National Bank) and tobacco (PMFTC Inc.).

Moving forward, LT Group expects to continue being a beneficiary of strong consumer spending.

“I would think in the next couple of years it will be like that,” Olives said.

“We should obviously take advantage and grow our businesses in the consumer segment,” Olives said, adding that its units will offer new products to increase its market reach.

LT Group grew its profits by a third to P3.8 billion in the first quarter. Revenues picked up 14 percent to P17.7 billion “due to higher revenues from banking, distilled spirits and property development, which offset the revenue drop in the beverage and tobacco sectors,” LT Group said.

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Saturday, May 18, 2013

Stock News 2013: Bloomberry revenue hits P578M

HK Citywalk Food & Beverage Outlet 荃新天地
HK Citywalk Food & Beverage Outlet 荃新天地 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Gaming firm Bloomberry Resort Corp. chalked up P578.3 million in revenue in the first 15 days of Solaire Manila Resort & Casino’s operations.

But for the first quarter, Bloomberry incurred a net loss of P1.06 billion, 688.6 percent higher year-on-year, due to higher pre-operating expenses as well as operating expenses and cost of sales during the first 15 days of operation.

Bloomberry launched the first entertainment complex in Pagcor City last March 16.

In the first quarter, gaming was the biggest contributor to revenue, amounting to P495.6 million. Its hotel, food and beverage outlets contributed P57.1 million while retail revenue from the first 15 days of commercial operation reached P1 million.

Other income consisted mainly of lease rentals, communication and transportation services.

After the opening of the first phase of its entertainment complex, Solaire said it would soon ramp up its gaming business. A number of junket operators have signed up to bring in foreign VIP players while numerous promotional programs and strategic marketing activities are ready to be launched, Bloomberry said.

Since opening day, Solaire’s hotel and food beverage outlets have become go-to destinations, becoming the byword for upscale service, amenities and excellent food and beverage choices. Bloomberry also announced that Solaire had adjusted its prices “to address concerns about being too pricey.”


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Friday, May 17, 2013

Stock News 2013: Property, gaming boost AGI profits in Q1

Casino logo
Casino logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Alliance Global Group Inc. grew its first-quarter net profit by 18 percent year on year to P4.91 billion on higher earnings chalked up by its property development, gaming and beverage businesses.

Core net income attributable to AGI shareholders likewise increased by 21 percent to P3.58 billion from the level a year ago, the company disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

Property development arm Megaworld Corp. posted a 15-percent rise in first-quarter net profit to P1.8 billion.  Megaworld contributed around 34 percent to AGI’s net income and about 26 percent to total revenue.

Leisure estate and gaming unit Travellers International Hotel Group—a partnership with the Genting group of Malaysia, which has made plans to go public—grew its first-quarter net profit by 16 percent year on year to P995 million. Travellers operates Resorts World Manila, the first integrated tourism estate in the country.

Emperador Distillers Inc. posted a 40-percent jump in first-quarter net profit to P1.4 billion.

Megaworld, Travellers and Emperador collectively contributed 84 percent of the conglomerate’s net profit.

“We believe the current macroeconomic conditions will contribute positively to our various businesses, from consumer and property to BPO and tourism—all growth drivers of the Philippine economy. These businesses will hit double-digit growth in revenues and net profits,” AGI chairman Tan said in a press statement.

Consolidated revenues went up by 25 percent to P30.39 billion in the first three months from the level a year ago.

Real estate arm Megaworld contributed around 34 percent to AGI’s net income and about 26 percent to its total revenue.

Megaworld’s three-month revenues stood at P8.1 billion, up 16 percent year on year. As an indicator of future growth, Megaworld and its subsidiaries also posted over P18 billion in reservation sales for the first quarter, higher than the P14 billion level in the same period last year, as the group reported brisk sales from the residential projects in its townships, particularly Newport City, McKinley West, McKinley Hill and Eastwood City.

Megaworld also cited strong leasing income from its BPO and retail portfolio.



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