Phinma sets P12-B spending program

MANILA, Philippines - Listed holding firm Phinma Corp. is spending close to P12 billion this year to support its power generation projects.

Profits will continue growing this year with the expected better performance of all operating units, an official said.

“The capital expenditures for the Trans-Asia Group is P10.8 billion. It will be P11.4-billion total for the entire Phinma group,” Regina B. Alvarez, senior vice president for Finance of Phinma.

Phinma, formerly Bacnotan Consolidated Industries Inc., allotted P3.9 billion in capital expenditures last year that also supported the construction of a power generation plant.

Alvarez said the listed holding firm, through Trans-Asia Renewable Energy Corp., is building a 54-megawatt (MW) wind farm in San Lorenzo, Guimaras. In December, it signed a P4.3-billion project financing facility with the Development Bank of the Philippines and Security Bank Corp.

For its part, Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp. partnered with Ayala Group’s AC Energy Holdings Inc. for South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. (SLTEC).

The first 135-MW unit of power plant of SLTEC in Batangas will be operational late this year. Another 135 MW power coal-fired plant will start operations next year.

For its operations, Phinma will likely post higher earnings this year, Alvarez also said.

Growth drivers would be the energy sector and education units, shed added.

“Other groups like steel will have some improvements in their income while the property unit has a lot of projects this year,” Alvarez said.

In 2013, Phinma’s consolidated net income reached P261.7 million, turning around from a net loss of P91.6 million in 2012 while revenues rose six percent to P4.8 billion.

Phinma is into steel fabrication (Union Galvasteel Corp.), education (Phinma Education Network composed of Araullo University, Cagayan de Oro College, University of Pangasinan and University of Iloilo), oil exploration and power production (Trans-Asia), property (Phinma Property Holdings Corp.) and consultancy (Fuld & Co. and Fuld Philippines).