Roxas Holdings posts record income

MANILA, Philippines - Listed sugar producer Roxas Holdings Inc. (RHI) posted a record net income of P667 million in its fiscal year ending September this year, the highest in its 85-year history.

RHI chairman Pedro E. Roxas attributed the strong earnings performance to new management’s focus on improving sugar sales margins and cost-containment measures in preparation for increased global competition due to the reduction in tariff of sugar imports from 48 percent in 2010 to five percent in 2015.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) also reached an all-time high of P1.6 billion, exceeding the P1 billion recorded in 2010.

The company’s revenues, however, dipped slightly to P7.7 billion from P7.9 billion a year earlier due to relatively higher sugar prices at the time, but gross profit surged to P1.7 billion from only P226 million.

RHI’s impressive output follows consecutive net losses of P765 million for the three months ending Sept. 30, 2011 (its new fiscal cut-off) and P742 million for 12 months ending June 30 last year.