Phinma keeps optimism despite El Niño, foreign exchange concerns
MANILA, Philippines — Phinma Corp., the diversified conglomerate of the Del Rosario Group, is keeping its optimism heading into next year despite concerns over the potential impact of El Niño and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
Phinma, a holding company with investments in the education, construction materials, property development, hospitality and community housing sectors, delivered strong first half results amid a weaker economic environment.
“We already saw the softening of the economy late last year, even before the war. So we already adjusted some of our systems. And then early this year when the war happened, we already adjusted,” Phinma president and COO Chito Salazar told The STAR.
“We’re kind of prepared for the rest of the year, regardless of what’s going to happen. I think we’ll do okay and our projections will remain as is,” he said.
Phinma’s consolidated net income rose to P363.35 million and attributable net income climbed to P20.11 million in the first semester, with revenues reaching P9.55 billion.
The performance was attributed to consistent growth in education, more efficient operations in the construction materials segment, the continuation of regional development projects in properties and community housing as well as stable domestic demand in hospitality.
However, Salazar said next year is troublesome because of El Niño.
“So our people will be squeezed on both sides. The high costs are going to hit them locally because food prices will potentially go up because of El Niño. But then the imports will also push that side. So we’re a little bit worried about that,” he said.
Salazar said the group is also worried about the foreign exchange, with tensions in the Gulf region contributing to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
“But I think we will still remain optimistic. The pressure is a little bit on us to find efficiencies and productivity. I think we’re in good businesses where the demand is needed. We’re feeling more of a cost squeeze than demand problem,” he said.
Despite the uncertainties, Salazar said Phinma continues to keep an eye on potential acquisitions, especially in the education sector.
“Always. Never going to stop because the market is so huge that the people need education,” Salazar said.
“We’re still looking at Davao. We’re still looking for markets in NCR. We want to enter the low-income market in Cebu because our school right now is not low income. And we’re actually looking at Vietnam also,” he said.
Phinma Education acquired early this year Southeastern College — its 12th institution in the Philippines and 14th in Southeast Asia — to further expand access to affordable quality education for underserved first-generation college students.
Even without acquisitions, Salazar said Phinma would also continue expanding its network of schools in the country.
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