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Gokongwei-led URC sees net income jump 25% in Q3

Universal Robina Corp. (URC) reported a P2.47 billion net income attributable in the third quarter this year, up by 25% from a year ago as sales inched up nearly three percent.   

In a regulatory filing, the Gokongwei-led consumer food company reported P27.92 billion in revenues in the quarter ending September, from P27.2 billion a year ago. 

For the nine-month period, URC saw a 40% increase in net income attributable to P10.52 billion from P7.5 billion year on year. 

Revenues were flat in the first three quarters at P85.8 billion from P85.1 billion, as domestic sales of the branded consumer foods (BCF) segment dropped.  

The BCF segment, which manufactures snacks, noodles and beverages, saw sales dip by 2.5% to P60.37 billion during the nine-month period. It accounted for 70.4% of URC’s total sales.  

Domestic sales of branded snacks such as Chippy and Cloud 9 went down by 4.9% to P44.24 billion during the nine-month period. URC attributed this to the “high base (in 2020) fueled by pantry stock up with Taal eruption and the start of the pandemic shifting household spending to pantry essentials.”  

International sales, on the other hand, went up by five percent to P16.13 billion in the January to September period. 

“In constant US dollar terms, sales increased by 6.7% driven by Indo-China and Indonesia despite COVID challenges. Vietnam significantly grew by 17.7% driven by resurgence in beverage sales particularly C2 while Thailand recovered with 8.2% sales growth coming from strong domestic performance,” URC said. 

Sales from the packaging division climbed by 37.8% to P1.19 billion in the first nine months of the year from P860 million on the back of better pricing and higher volumes.  

URC’s agro-industrial group saw sales slide 7.4% to P8.54 billion from P9.22 billion in the same period last year.   

Meanwhile, sales from the company’s commodity foods group amounted to P15.71 billion, 19.7% more than the P13.12 billion logged the year earlier.   

On Friday, shares of URC at the stock exchange declined by seven percent or 10 centavos to close at P138 per share. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte  

Converge completes P6-B subsea cable project

Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. is scheduled to complete the P6-billion domestic submarine cable project, which connected the country’s three major islands to its national “fiber backbone,” on Sunday.  

“Not only does this ensure availability of the service nationwide, but with the network design, we’re assured to have a resilient backbone that’s able to carry the tremendous data traffic driven by our million-plus customers,” Dennis Anthony H. Uy, chief executive officer and co-founder of Converge, said in a statement on Friday.  

The company’s 1,800-kilometer subsea cable will make “its final landing” in Coron, Palawan on Sunday (Oct. 31).  

Converge uses a 48-fiber core optical cases, which is said to run on 400G and 800G technology, allowing more bandwidth for the transfer of data through the cable.   

Visayas and Mindanao were said to be connected during the first phase of Converge’s subsea backbone rollout in Bogo, Cebu and Cagayan de Oro. In the second phase, the company “closed the loops” by re-entering Visayas via Roxas City, Capiz in Panay and in Mindanao through Buena Vista.   

This is said to be supported by its 20 cable landing stations across the country.  

The company said its subsea cables would allow customers to have access to its fiber services “even in the case of fiber cuts.”  

“All these features on the network design and technology simply mean the connection on our network is more stable, more resilient, and less prone to failure or outages – wherever you are in the country,” said Converge Chief Operating Officer Jesus C. Romero.  

Converge said it is on track to meet its target of serving 55% of Philippine households by 2025.  

Shares of Converge at the local bourse declined by 3.20% or P1.05 on Friday, closing at P31.80 apiece.  — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte  

The Keepers Holdings sets FOO price to P1.50 per share

The Keepers Holdings, Inc. set the price for its follow-on offering (FOO) at P1.50 per share, which is the lowest end of its already discounted price range.   

At this offer price, the company may raise up to P4.5 billion for the sale of three billion common shares.   

The company revised its FOO price range to P1.50 to P2 per share, down from the previous range of P2.00 to P2.50. It said it received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to adjust the price range on Oct. 26.    

“Given the string of public offerings in the local market this year, this may help gather more interest in the company’s [FOO], as well as providing some space for the issue to appreciate in value,” Darren Blaine T. Pangan, trader at Timson Securities, Inc., said in a Viber message.    

“This would entice more investors with the lowered final offer price, which provides greater potential upside in the future, especially if the economy re-opens or recovers further,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a separate Viber message.   

The Lucio L. Co-led firm is involved in the liquor distribution business.  

RCBC’s Mr. Ricafort said that the reopening of restaurants and hotels once lockdowns are further eased may also provide an upside for the firm.   

“Liquor consumption increases alongside with any boost in consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of the economy, as would be partly boosted before the elections,” Mr. Ricafort said.   

The Keepers Holdings entered a share-swap transaction with another Co-led listed firm, Cosco Capital, Inc., for shares in Montosco, Inc., Meritus Prime Distribution, Inc., and Premier Wine and Spirits, Inc.   

Cosco Capital was issued 11.25 billion of The Keepers Holdings’ shares in exchange.   

The company also increased its authorized capital stock to P2 billion from P327.6 million. It consists of 20 billion common shares with a par value of 10 centavos per share.  

As a result of the decrease in public float to 0.34%, shares of The Keepers Holdings were suspended and last traded at the stock market on July 7, closing at P2.95 each.    

The Keepers Holdings is conducting the follow-on offering to comply with the public float requirement. Its estimated public float post-offer stands at 20.94%. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte  

MPIC partners with SAP for future-proofing

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) has partnered with multinational software company SAP SE to future-proof and simplify its business processes.  

“One of our key objectives is really to future-proof our business and, in doing so, future-proof all our other stakeholders, including our partners, investors, employees, and even ourselves,” MPIC Chief Financial Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer Chaye A. Cabal-Revilla said during an online briefing on Friday.  

SAP offers solutions aimed at simplifying business processes, as well as standardized metrics and analysis tools designed to minimize carbon footprint. 

“If we can have a good reference for what we are doing for MPIC, this will translate into all of those other transformations to intelligent enterprise that [we] will be having to all our 1,800 customers here in the Philippines,” SAP Philippines Managing Director Edler R. Panlilio said. 

“While moving customers to intelligent enterprise, I think we are really driven by that purpose of SAP to really put sustainability at the forefront of these transformations,” he added. 

SAP has 102,400 employees from more than 140 countries, including the Philippines, and has more than 22,000 global partners, according to its website. 

“I think everyone will agree with me that the biggest disruption if we don’t act now is really climate change,” Mr. Panlilio said. 

“Now is really the time to act on it, and that’s part of our sustainability efforts,” Ms. Cabal-Revilla said. 

MPIC is one of three key Philippine units of First Pacific, the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Arjay L. Balinbin 

Semirara Mining nets P4 billion in Q3

Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC) reported P4 billion in net income in the third quarter, surging more than five times from P750 million during the same period a year ago as prices and demand for coal increased. 

In a regulatory filing, the listed miner said its P4.01 billion income is “its highest-ever quarterly net income for the period.”  

“The surge in earnings was mainly due to the double-digit rise in Semirara coal sales and average selling price (ASP), as the strong rebound in post-pandemic economic activities, low inventory, production disruptions and stockpiling for the coming winter season widened the global supply and demand gap for coal,” SMPC said. 

Revenues doubled to P14 billion in the third quarter from P7.2 billion a year ago. This was driven by revenues from coal which soared 215% to P9.72 billion, while power revenues inched up 3.7% to P4.27 billion.  

Coal accounted for the bulk of SMPC’s sales, while Semirara-Calaca Power Corporation accounted for 17% and Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corporation accounted for the remaining 5%.  

The company said the average selling prices of its coal soared 82% to P2,831 per metric ton (MT) in the July to Sept. period from P1,558 per MT in the same period last year.  

However, production of coal, however, dropped by 39% to 2 million metric tons (MMT) this quarter from 3.3 MMT in the same quarter last year due to heavy rains affecting the company’s water seepage management efforts in its Molave pit.  

“We expect our coal segment to continue to do well for the rest of the year because of elevated coal prices and sustained strong demand from China,” SMPC President and COO Maria Cristina C. Gotianun said in a statement.  

On the other hand, the power segment was affected by the higher plant outages in the third quarter.  

“Total power sales fell by 34% to 1,032 GWh as three of the four SMPC plants were down for various periods during the quarter. Improved market conditions due to demand recovery to pre-pandemic level has served as a cushion from the full impact of lower plant availability,” the company said.  

Meanwhile, SMPC said its consolidated net income of P10.29 in the first nine months of 2021 has already exceeded its pre-pandemic annual income of P9.7 billion.  

“Stable coal production and reduced internal usage amid a tight market allowed the Group to take advantage of accelerating China demand, record-high coal prices and the weak peso. However, this was tempered by the prolonged forced shutdown of SCPC Unit 2 and higher replacement power purchases,” the company said.  

Excluding a non-recurring P133-million loss this year mainly from the deferred tax remeasurement due to the effectivity of the CREATE Law and a one-time gain of P61 million from a financial contract, consolidated core net income jumped 256% to P10.43 billion. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago  

Supply chain challenges push IMI to Q3 loss

Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc. (IMI) swung to a $1.28-million net loss attributable to equity holders of the parent company in the third quarter from a $9.1-million profit during the same period in 2020, citing challenges arising from the global supply chain snarls and lockdown restrictions. 

In a statement, the manufacturing arm of AC Industrial Technology Holdings, Inc. reported revenues from its contracts with customers inched up two percent to $319 million during the July to September period. 

“Customer demand is still strong and we continue to win projects in strategic segments of the industry. However, the extended component shortage is forcing us to delay a significant amount of business,” IMI President Jerome S. Tan said in a statement on Friday.  

IMI’s wholly-owned businesses saw revenues grow by five percent year on year to $249 million, while revenues for VIA optronics and Surface Technology International (STI Ltd.) went up by four percent to $77 million.   

IMI said business margins and growth remain dampened by the global supply chain issues and local lockdown restrictions that have affected the recovery of major suppliers in the component industry.  

“Just as supply chain challenges were starting to show signs of easing, rising [COVID-19] Delta cases in chip manufacturing regions has pushed back the recovery timeline. The situation has been further complicated by global shipping bottlenecks and expensive logistic expenses in 2021,” Mr. Tan said.  

Global freight expenses have soared amid port congestion and shortages of shipping containers. 

“The industry is now forecasting a staggered recovery in 2022, which is when we expect to clear the order backlogs in our facilities,” he added.   

For the January-to-September period, IMI narrowed its net loss attributable to equity holders of the parent firm to $5.32 million, 55% lower than the $11.89 million in the same period last year.  

Nine-month revenues grew by 23% to $972.97 million from $788.62 million a year ago.  

Shares of IMI declined by 2.42% or 22 centavos to close at P8.88 apiece on Friday. — K.C.G.Valmonte  

AC Energy, ALI ink power supply deal

AC Energy’s 120 MW Gigasol Alaminos, Laguna

Listed power firm AC Energy Corp. said it has forged a deal to supply clean power to Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) through 2050. 

In a statement, AC Energy said its 120-megawatt solar plant in Alaminos, Laguna will supply renewable energy “that will help meet ALI’s demand up to 2050.” 

“This marks a long-term partnership that will advance both companies’ net zero aspirations, eliminating 102,540 MTCO2e (metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) per year, or the equivalent of taking 22,291 cars off the road annually,” AC Energy said in a regulatory filing on Friday. 

Both companies are part of the Ayala Group. 

“We are happy to work with Ayala Land on this important initiative that will help the Ayala group achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” AC Energy President and Chief Executive Officer Eric T. Francia said.  

ALI President and Chief Executive Officer Bernard Vincent O. Dy said the partnership with AC Energy will help the developer advance towards its net zero goal. 

Last week, Ayala Corp. has committed to work towards attaining net zero carbon emissions in next thirty years, aligning itself with the global direction for climate action. 

AC Energy’s solar farm in Alaminos started commercial operations in June. The company described “GigaSol Alaminos” as the second largest plant of its kind in the country, saying it can power around 80,000 homes while avoiding 111,034.37 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent of greenhouse gases. 

GigaSol Alaminos is surrounded by ALI’s Carbon Forest, a woodland reserve that acts as a “carbon trap.” 

Shares of AC Energy in the local bourse inched down 0.32% or four centavos to close at P12.26 apiece on Friday. Meanwhile, shares of Ayala Land shed 1.54% or 55 centavos to finish at P35.10 apiece on the same trading day. — A.Y.Yang 

First Gen says Avion unit now up and running

Lopez-led First Gen Corp. said on Friday that the second unit of its 97-megawatt (MW) Avion power plant in Batangas can now operate on either natural gas and liquid fuel. 

“[We have] been advised by its subsidiary, Prime Meridian Powergen Corp., that the recommissioning and testing activities of Unit 2 of the 97 MW Avion Power Plant using Malampaya natural gas have been completed and the unit is now commercially available on both natural gas and liquid fuel,” First Gen told the local bourse in a regulatory filing. 

The company has previously reported that Unit 2 of the open-cycle plant went offline due to damage found in its gas turbine after a routine inspection. 

PMPC, a subsidiary of First Gen, owns the Avion plant which is located within First Gen’s Clean Energy Complex in Batangas City. 

The development comes around a week after the plant’s equipment manufacturer General Electric (GE) completed restoration works on Avion’s Unit 2.  

Aside from Avion, First Gen has three other natural gas-fed plants namely: 1,000-MW Santa Rita, the 500-MW San Lorenzo, and the 420-MW San Gabriel. These three facilities also get their power from the deepwater-to-gas project. 

Shares of First Gen in the local bourse inched up by 0.17% or five centavos to close at P30.10 apiece on Friday. — A.Y. Yang  

Musk’s Starlink in talks to bring fast Internet to Philippines

Elon Musk’s Starlink is in talks with two Philippine telcos to launch its ultrafast satellite internet in a country with slow speeds and poor connectivity.  

Transpacific Broadband Group International Inc. said it’s looking to partner with Starlink for its satellite broadband venture, planning to roll out the technology by 2022. It signed an agreement with operator ABS Global Ltd. for a low-earth orbit satellite station in Pampanga province, north of the capital, according to a statement Thursday. 

Low-earth orbit satellite technology offers a combination of affordability, speed, flexibility, ease-of-setup and a 27-millisecond low-latency bandwidth, it said in a stock exchange filing. 

The Philippines ranks 72nd in the world for mobile internet speed and 64th in terms of fixed broadband, according to the Speedtest Global Index. 

Starlink, a unit of Musk’s SpaceX, has deployed more than 1,700 satellites in low-earth orbit, a number that could eventually top 30,000 if it receives the necessary regulatory approvals and market demand warrants.  

Meanwhile, fiber-optic broadband operator Converge ICT Solutions Inc. is talking to several satellite providers including SpaceX to complement its network, CEO Dennis Anthony Uy said.  

“We would like to utilize low-orbit satellite technology to bridge the gap in areas that are unreachable with fiber optic cables so that we can provide quality broadband connectivity to the majority of our people,” Uy said. Converge in March said it sees room for growth by targeting the 90% of the Southeast Asian nation’s 110 million population that is still without high-speed internet. — Bloomberg  

Almost 20% of households have debt — BSP survey

BW FILE PHOTO

ALMOST TWO in every five households had some form of debt, mostly in the form of outstanding loans and bills, 2018 data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. 

Outstanding loans accounted for 28.2% of household debt, while household bills represented 17.1% and credit card bills accounted for 1.6%. 

Most household loans were Pag-IBIG Fund and National Housing Authority housing loans, along with vehicle financing and business financing. 

The 2018 Consumer Finance Survey released by the BSP on Friday said households choose loan providers based on interest rates. 

“(The) bulk of reported interest rates by borrowing households were broadly low at 1-4 percent,” the survey results said. 

“Households were able to manage their loans well as most were paid on time.” 

At the time, around a quarter of households with outstanding loans used digital financial services for credit-related transactions. 

The average monthly income for a household of five in 2017 was P15,000, with majority of households sourcing income from employment. Only 5.1% of households did entrepreneurial work, while nearly half also had income from other sources, such as remittances. 

Average monthly spending was P22,000, mostly for food. 

Out of over 70% of households that own residential property, almost half owned both the house and lot while 26.2% owned only a housing unit. Almost nine percent owned other real property such as a land parcel or farm. — Jenina P. Ibañez 

Central bank makes full award of short-term securities

BW FILE PHOTO

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) made a full award of the short-term securities it auctioned off on Friday even as its rate inched up. 

The central bank raised P110 billion as planned from its offer of 27-day bills that attracted P130.25 billion in bids. However, demand was lower than the P156.81 billion in tenders offered last week. 

The average rate of the one-month securities was 1.7689%, higher than 1.7684% previously. Banks asked for yields between 1.75% and 1.8%, a wider range than last week’s 1.7425% to 1.788%. 

The central bank uses short-term securities and its term deposit facility to mop up excess liquidity in the financial system and guide market rates. 

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort in a Viber message said the average yield of the bills was slightly higher ahead of the release of inflation data next week. 

“(Inflation) could pick up due to higher global oil prices among seven-year highs recently amid some disruptions in the global supply chains and ahead of the winter season,” he said, noting that this could be offset by excess liquidity in the financial system. 

Reuters on Friday reported that oil prices increased but were headed for the first weekly loss in at least eight weeks after Iran’s top negotiator said nuclear talks could be renewed by the end of November. A deal could lead to the lifting of sanctions on Iran’s oil exports. 

Brent crude futures went up 27 cents or 0.3% to $84.59 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures increased by 12 cents or 0.1% to $82.93 a barrel. — Jenina P. Ibañez with Reuters 

Peso climbs on expectations of lower oil prices

THE PESO strengthened versus the greenback on Friday on expectations of lower fuel prices, with Iran likely to resume its oil exports. 

The local unit closed at P50.415 per dollar on Friday, appreciating by 29 centavos from its P50.71 finish on Thursday, based on data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines. 

The peso opened Friday’s session stronger from its previous day’s close at P50.63 against the dollar. Its weakest showing was at P50.67, while its intraday best was at P50.35 versus the greenback. 

Dollars traded went up to $983.38 million on Friday from $899.73 million on Thursday. 

The peso appreciated on expectations of a resumption of oil exports from Iran as nuclear deal negotiations resume next month, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message. 

“Global oil prices corrected lower to one-week lows recently ahead of the resumption of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear deal.” 

Iran’s top negotiator said nuclear talks with six world powers could be renewed by the end of November, Reuters reported. A deal could lead to the lifting of sanctions on Iran’s oil exports. 

“The peso also stronger after the gauge of the US dollar versus major global currencies eased to one-month lows amid near record high US stock markets that could suggest improved global market risk appetite/risk on mode that tends to reduce the demand for safe havens such as the US dollar,” Mr. Ricafort added. 

Meanwhile, a trader said the peso appreciated as US economic growth for the third quarter this year came in weaker than market expectations. 

US economic growth slowed to 2% in the July to September period, down from 4.5% and 6.7% in the first two quarters of 2021. — J.P. Ibañez with Reuters 

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