Phinma Corp. reported a net loss of P29 million in 2017, a turnaround from a profit of P277 million in 2016, due to lower income from core subsidiaries.
Phinma said in a disclosure to the stock exchange consolidated revenues in 2017 amounted to P6.4 billion in 2017, up just two percent over the previous year, as revenue from the construction materials and education groups registered slight increases.
The company said energy unit Phinma Energy Corp. faced a challenge in 2017 because of low market prices for electricity due to the competitive supply environment, while its real estate unit Phinma Properties posted a net loss in 2017 after a delay in sales recognition and increased construction costs.
Also contributing to the company’s weak performance in 2017 was higher interest and financing charges due to additional debt in connection with the increased investment in new subsidiary PhilCement Corp. and Phinma Education Holdings Inc. following the acquisition of Saint Jude College Inc.
Phinma Education holds investments in six tertiary education schools in the Philippines. It also operates Phinma Training Center in Yangon, Myanmar which has started offering programs for nursing assistants.
Phinma in 2017 sold its majority stake in Fuld & Co. Inc., its US-based strategic consulting firm, to Accretio Investments Pte Ltd., a Singapore unit of a global private research and consulting company.
The sale allowed Phinma to focus efforts on its local consulting company as it develops new markets and opportunities in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. The company expects its units to continue their expansion programs in 2018.
Phinma said its education unit would continue to search for schools to add to a growing network in pursuit of its goal to become the largest education group in the country.
Phinma Energy, meanwhile, will study projects that will diversify its generation portfolio to possibly include gas and hydro power projects. It is also poised to develop additional conventional as well as renewable energy projects.