Pasar reports 50% revenue hike

Reveues of the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp. (PASAR) went up by 50 percent to P26.5 billion in the first 11 months of 2003 compared to the P17.74 billion recorded in the same period of 2002.

The sharp increase was attributed to the notable improvement in output.

In particular, PASAR’s sales of sulphuric acid amounted to 453,322 metric tons (MT) from January to November 2003, increasing 46 percent from the 309,961 MT sold for the comparable period in 2002.

Total anode production or unrefined copper increased 40 percent year-on-year to 206,874 MT tons for the 11 month period from only 148,079 MT in January to November 2002.

Cathode production or refined copper improved 20 percent to 155,914 MT during the 11-month period compared to 130,699 MT for the comparable period in 2002.

The cathodes produced by PASAR are among the top 10 export products of the country and they are used in the manufacture of electronics.

PASAR is the country’s only copper smelting and refining firm and is one of the biggest in Asia. Its plant is located at the Leyte Industrial and Development Estate in Isabel, Leyte.

PASAR’s sales of gold and silver also increased during the 11 month period in review with total gold sales of 11,767 kilograms, a 16 percent increase from the 10,160 kilogams sold for the comparable 11 month period in 2002.

Silver sales, likewise, improved to 38,682 kilograms, an 11 percent increase from the 34,988 kilograms sold from January to November 2002.

PASAR is now majority-owned by a consortium comprised of Swiss metals firm Glencore International and local investors.

The consortium acquired 90 percent of PASAR from the Philippine government in an international bidding in June 1999.

The consortium has infused a total of $50 million or P2.6 billion into PASAR since it acquired the firm in 1999.

The consortium wil invest an additional P800 milliion to increase PASAR’s copper refining capacity by 31,500 MT per year (MTPY) to 200,000 MTPY from the current capacity of only 168,500 MTPY.