New contract to hike DFP profits by P35-M

State-run Duty Free Philippines (DFP) is set to implement an agreement with a foreign firm to supply it with liquor and increase its profits to at least P35 million a year.

Michael Kho, DFP general manager, said the contract with Colombo Management Hong Kong Ltd. (CMH) would allow the company to eventually return to its mandate of helping fund tourism development and promotions programs.

The agreement, signed in December 2000 by his predecessor Faustino Salud, was deferred so better "commercial terms" could be extracted from CMH, he added.

Kho said the latest agreement guarantees DFP an income of at least P270 million, and it would be freed of capital requirements.

Kho said this is the first time since 1996 that DFP had turned a profit, making a complete turnaround from years of losing close to P2 billion.

The DFP management is working on ways to guarantee the company’s profitability even under difficult conditions that have affected its sales, he added.

Kho said he has pursued further negotiations of the contract between DFP and CMH to improve the returns for the government. — Sandy Araneta