Tan's MacroAsia reports 14.2% profit drop in first half

MANILA, Philippines - MacroAsia Corp., a listed aviation support company owned by tycoon Lucio Tan, reported a 14.2 percent drop in its net income in the first half of the year to P209.73 million on increased expenses relating to its mining business and lower revenues from ground handling and aviation services.

In a financial report submitted to the Philippine Stock Exchange, MacroAsia said total revenues slightly declined to P557.96 million from P560.88 million. Of the total, P373.37 million came from in-flight catering services which was an improvement of 7.65 percent over the previous year owing to higher number of meals and beverages served.

The company reported a drop in revenues from ground handling due to the effect of the lower number of flights of its serviced client from P113.22 million to P87.66 million. Revenues from charter flights likewise fell to P5.46 million from P9.39 million.

“The decrease in net income is mainly attributable to the increase in project development expenses (mining project) during the first six months of the year to complete the seven phases of exploration activities, complete the series of public consultation on the project, and secure the necessary permits to operate the mine,” MacroAsia said.

The company had total assets of P3.35 billion as of end-June this year. MacroAsia said it intends to continuously expand its revenue portfolio by building on its existing core businesses and pursuing new viable opportunities despite stiff competition and crisis in aviation industry.

It is aiming to export one million tons of nickel per year either to China, Australia or Japan. It has earmarked over P200 million to develop its Infanta nickel mine in Brooke’s Point in Palawan, which covers a total land area of about 1,114 hectares.

The mine, which used to produce ore shipments to Japan in the 1970s, is now being revived by MacroAsia, a holder of two mineral production sharing agreements (MPSA) with the government with the renewal of mining leases that the company held as a mining entity from its startup years.

Based on the Philippine Mineral Reporting Code – compliant report, the company has completed a seven-phased exploration program over 535.5 hectares or 48 percent of the MPSA’s total. The results indicate a total resource tonnage of around 88.36 million dry metric tons of ore.