Remittances increased by 3% to $8b in first quarter—BSP

By Julito G. Rada

MONEY sent home by Filipinos working overseas grew 3 percent in the first quarter to $8 billion from $7.77 billion a year ago, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Monday.

“The growth in cash remittances from the United States, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in the first quarter of 2023,” the BSP said in a statement.

It said that in terms of country sources, the US posted the highest share of overall remittances in the period, followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Japan.

Data showed that cash remittances in March also rose 3 percent to $2.67 billion from $2.59 billion a year earlier. This was due to the growth in receipts from land- and sea-based workers.

Personal remittances, which include non-cash items, also rose 3 percent in March to $2.97 billion from $2.89 billion recorded in the same month last year.

“The increase in personal remittances in March 2023 was due to higher remittances sent by landbased workers with work contracts of one year or more and, sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year,” the BSP said.

Personal remittances went up by 3 percent in the first quarter to $8.91 billion from $8.65 billion in the comparable period in 2022. Cash remittances went up 3.6 percent in 2022 to a record $32.54 billion from $31.42 billion in 2021 on sustained demand for skilled Filipino workers overseas. The full-year remittances growth, however, missed the official target of 4 percent set by the Bangko Sentral.

San Miguel’s Q1 profit climbed 27% to P17.7b as revenues topped P349b

By Jenniffer B. Austria

CONGLOMERATE San Miguel Corp. said Monday first-quarter net income expanded 27 percent to P17.7 billion from P13.9 billion in the same period last year, driven by sustained growth in food, beverage and power generation businesses.

SMC said in a statement first-quarter consolidated revenues grew 9 percent to P349.7 billion from P316 billion a year ago on higher volumes across all businesses.

“Our strong first-quarter results reflect our commitment to execute well on our strategic priorities as we navigated through a very challenging environment.

profitability to net income, improved 13 percent to P50.7 billion.

San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. posted an 8-percent increase in firstquarter income to P9.8 billion from a year ago level of P9.1 billion. Brewery operations posted a 38-percent increase in net income to P6.8 billion.

Ginebra San Miguel also delivered an 81-percent growth in net income to P2.5 billion even as sales inched up by 3 percent to P12.9 billion.

San Miguel Food booked a net income of P704 million in the first quarter, down 76 percent from P3 billion a year ago on rising input costs.

ALLIIANCE Global Group Inc. of businessman Andrew Tan said first-quarter consolidated net income jumped 20 percent to P4.7 billion from P3.9 billion a year ago, driven by strong contribution from property and liquor businesses.

AGI said in a stock exchange filing Monday first-quarter consolidated revenues climbed 34 percent to P50.3 billion from last year’s P37.5 billion as all major business segments delivered creditable results.

“AGI is firing on all cylinders, with all our major business segments registering impressive growth in the first quarter of the year despite nagging concerns on inflation and ongoing global headwinds,” said AGI chief executive Kevin Tan.

Tan said the continued strong consumer spending and increased economic activity boosted the group’s lifestyle malls, hotels, integrated resort operations, quick service restaurants, real estate sales and office rental businesses. AGI’s international spirits business also continued to benefit from the increasing popularity of its premium brands across the globe and the resurgence in travel retail. Jenniffer B. Austria

LTFRB probes overcharging by Angkas riders

THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board recently said it is investigating reports in social media and phoned-in complaints from the public about the alleged overcharging by some riders of motorcycle taxi operator Angkas during rush hour in Metro Manila. An LTFRB executive advised commuters to report excessive charges by taking a screenshot and sending it to the LTFRB Facebook page.

The official who is involved in the LTFRB’s investigation of the complaints said of the three motorcycle operators, with Joyride and Move It being the other two, Angkas was the recipient of mounting complaints on the issue of overcharging.

LOVE BORACAY. Globe teams up with the local government of Malay, Aklan to encourage sustainable tourism through the highly-anticipated return of Love Boracay, formerly known as LaBoracay, on April 28 to May 1. Globe supports Boracay’s environmental conservation efforts through conducting offshore clean-up drives, coral reef rehabilitation, community support for prevention of untreated effluents from entering the sea and raising awareness among the youth and the community on how they can contribute to environmental conservation.

With raw material prices expected to stabilize, we are confident we can deliver an even better performance in the coming months,” SMC president and chief executive Ramon Ang said.

Income from operations climbed 9 percent to P35 billion, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, an alternate measure of

Power generation subsidiary San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp. booked a 177-percent increase in net income to P5.34 billion despite a 4-percent decline in sales to P41.1 billion.

Oil refiner Petron Corp. registered a 6-percent decline in first-quarter income to P3.4 billion, while sales went up by 10 percent to P188.7 billion.

Alsons Consolidated registered 67% increase in first-quarter net income to P542m

By Alena Mae S. Flores

ALSONS Consolidated Resources Inc. said Monday net income soared 67 percent in the first three months to P542.27 million from P324 million in the same period last year.

Alsons said net earnings attributable to the parent went up by 73 percent in the first quarter to P155.84 million from P90.16 million a year earlier.

The publicly-listed company of the Alcantara Group saw first-quarter revenues rise 24 percent to P3.31 billion from P2.67 billion.

“The first quarter of 2023 saw a steady power demand from our key power markets in Mindanao. Our 210-megawatt Sarangani Energy Corp. baseload power plant in Sarangani province and our 100MW Western Mindanao Power Corp. diesel plant in Zamboanga City remain to be our key revenue and income drivers for this quarter,” Alsons deputy chief financial officer Philip Edward Sagun said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

The company’s SEC plant provides power to key areas in Mindanao including Sarangani and the cities of General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Dipolog, Dapitan, Pagadian, Samal, Tagum, Kidapawan and Butuan. Alsons’ WMPC power plant is the only major power generation facility in the Zamboanga Peninsula, providing power to Zamboanga City and supplying vital ancillary services to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines to help stabilize the grid in the Western Mindanao region.

Alsons is beefing up its renewable energy capacity in the next few years, with around eight run-of-river hydroelectric power facilities in the pipeline.

The official said that in the course of the investigation, it was found that Angkas had not given a breakdown of the fare it charges. “In one instance, a passenger booked the three taxi operators over the same origin and destination, and Angkas turned out to be the most expensive,” the official said.

The LTFRB is also investigating reports that the fare matrix released by the board, used as guidelines for passengers using motorcycle taxis on the correct fares to be paid for the service, were not followed by Angkas riders.

The fare matrix, released on Jan. 27, 2020 by the LTFRB, mandated the following fares in Metro Manila: P50 for the first 2 kilometers, P10 until the 7th kilometer; P15 for subsequent kilometers. In Metro Cebu/Cagayan De Oro, the fare is P20 for the first 2 kilometers; P16 up till 8 kilometers, and P20 for subsequent kilometers.

Based on customer complaints on social media and those phoned in at the LTFRB, Angkas riders were allegedly ignoring the use of their apps, and instead routinely charged passengers from five to 10 times more than the posted fare matrix, especially during peak or rush hours.

Gilas avenges setback to Indonesians, eyes cage title

By Riera U. Mallari

PHNOM PENH—Gilas

Pili- pinas checked the first of two targets in its Southeast Asian Games’ bucket list when it avenged its last year’s setback to Indonesia via a semifinal 84-76 victory in the basketball competitions at the Elephant Hall 2 of the Morodok Techno National Stadium here on Monday.

On Tuesday at 3 p.m. (4 p.m. in Manila), the Filipinos will try to achieve their second goal – regain the basketball throne.