Investing Stocks in Philippines: Indonesia

Showing posts with label Indonesia. Show all posts

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Stock News 2012: Pancake House H1 earnings hit P49.9M

Yellow Cab Pizza Co. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Lorenzo-led Pancake House Inc. more than doubled its first semester earnings to P49.9 million on stronger margins due to the hefty contribution of its New York-style pizza chain Yellow Cab as well as from the continued expansion of its flagship brand Pancake House.

Consolidated revenues in the first six months of the year surged 86 percent to P1.67 billion, mainly driven by new store development and same store sales growth. Total system-wide sales (total sales to customers both from company-owned and franchised stores) increased 77.19 percent to P2.02 billion.

Store sales grew 110.8 percent to P1.4 billion while commissary sales rose 10.9 percent to P210.58 million. Franchise income likewise went up to P60.06 million from P46.08 million due to increased number of franchisees and sustainable growth in same store sakes of franchisees.

Consolidated earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to P198 million, up 80 percent year on year. EBITDA measures the company’s ability to earn from operations.

Total costs and expenses, however, jumped 99.8 percent to P1.6 billion because of higher occupancy costs such as utilities, rent, and electricity, among others. The increase was also due to expanded central office operations.

The group had a total of 268 stores across the country as of June 30 this year, broken down as follows: Pancake House 96, Yellow Cab 89, Dencios 15, Teriyaki boy 33, Sizzlin Pepper Steak 18, Le Coeur de France 13, and The Chicken Rice Shop 4.

In the same period in 2011, the group had only 178 stores.

The group expects to end the year with around 300 stores as it expands its presence in the so-called New Wave Cities such as Cebu, Davao, Laoag and Subic.

Pancake House expects its net earnings to grow 70 percent this year from P90.16 million in 2011 largely due to the full-year contribution of Yellow Cab. Its EBITDA is likewise seen to rise to a range of P330 million to P570 million.

To ensure continued growth, the group is embarking on an aggressive expansion campaign overseas with plans to build 300 stores in five to seven years. It wants to further widen its presence in the Middle East as well as enter new markets like Indonesia and China.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?publicationSubCategoryId=66&articleId=839457

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Stock News 2012: First Pacific plans to acquire 2-3 mines

Photo of Manny (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd. is ratcheting up its presence in the mining industry with plans to acquire two or three mining companies in the Philippines and Indonesia to support its goal to become a mid-sized global gold producer over the medium term.

During the Earth’s Resources Conference sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong yesterday, First Pacific chief executive Manuel V. Pangilinan said the group is eyeing to produce one million ounces of gold a year in and outside the Philippines as it sees more upside potential for the precious metal.

Industry observers said gold remains a coveted asset given its long-term supply and demand dynamics. Continuing concerns about Europe’s financial problems and China’s reduced economic growth forecast made gold an attractive currency hedge.

“There’s a lot of promise out there but in many cases we have been unable to agree on price. Our preference is to invest in a mine that is already operating and already able to deliver to our bottomline,” Pangilinan said.

“You wont find us investing outside emerging Asia. We have a relative advantage in this part of the world so no matter how enticing a project in say, Australia, might look, we won’t go there,” he pointed out.

Pangilinan said the local mining firm they are targeting is already operating while its prospect in Indonesia has yet to commence operations. “The one in Indonesia will be bigger than the other one we’re looking at in the Philippines,” he said.

“Ideally, we will invest in a mine which produces two metals so that one metal subsidizes the production cost of the other. Our ambition over the medium-term is a four fold increase in ore production,” Pangilinan added.

He said First Pacific, through Philex Mining Corp., already operates the Padcal mine in Benguet, which currently produces 25,000 metric tons of ore a day. Down south in Mindanao, Philex has the Silangan mine which is expected to come online by 2016 with a capacity of 35,000 tons a day.

Since Pangilinan took the helm at Philex, the group has made several investments in the mining space which include a five-percent stake in Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co. and a joint venture agreement to develop and operate a mining property owned by Manila Mining Corp. Both Lepanto and Manila Mining are controlled by businessman Felipe Yap.

As far as the Recto Bank is concerned, Pangilinan reiterated his earlier position of taking in a foreign partner, preferable a Chinese company.

“You really need someone with experienced technology. The most logical thing is to to partner with a Chinese company like Chinese offshore oil producer CNOOC, PetroChina and Sinochem,” he said.

Pangilinan said he is open to taking in one or two large partners if the size of the field is large enough. “We want to enlarge the consortium beyond ourselves. The advantage of taking in partners is that it internationalizes and depoliticizes the project. It’s best if there is one or two more non-Chinese and non-Filipino partners in the equation,” he said.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?publicationSubCategoryId=66&articleId=819569