Phinma allots P3.9B for power plant project with Ayala

MANILA, Philippines - Listed holding firm Phinma Corp. is banking on the recovery of its property unit and the absence of losses from its business processing unit to post an income turnaround this year.

Phinma is allotting P3.9 billion in capital expenditures this year that will primarily fund the construction of a power generation plant.

“Higher income will come from energy, better property business and no more losses from One Animate Ltd.,” Ramon R. del Rosario, Jr., president and vice-chairman of Phinma, told reporters after the company’s annual stockholders meeting.

Lower profits from the Phinma Properties, which was hampered by delays in project launches, and losses in the animation unit resulted in Phinma incurring a net loss last year.

Phinma said it suffered from a P36-million net loss last year, reversing the P81-million income in 2011.

“The company is poised for a recovery based on a larger sales network and a healthy pipeline of over 4,400 condominium units over the next three years,” Del Rosario said.

Regina B. Alvarez, senior vice-president for finance of Phinma, said the company will spend P3.9 billion this year, of which P3.6 billion will be for the power project, P79 million for Phinma Properties and P200 million for steel fabricator Union Galvasteel Corp.

Unit Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp. is building a 135-megawatt (MW) power plant in partnership with Ayala Corp. It will start commercial operations in 2016.

For the hotels business, Del Rosario said Phinma targets to have 25 operating units by 2015.

It will start operations of three Microtel hotels with a total of 180-200 rooms this year, Del Rosario said.

Phinma, formerly Bacnotan Consolidated Industries Inc., is also into educational institutions (Phinma Education Network composed of Araullo University, Cagayan de Oro College, University of Pangasinan and University of Iloilo).