By Leslie D. Venzon
MANILA, Aug. 19 (PNA) — Listed sugar miller Roxas Holdings, Inc. (RHI) on Wednesday said its profit declined by 28 percent as of third quarter ending June 2015 due to low cane supply.
RHI reported to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) its net income from September 2014 to June 2015 reached Php328 million from previous year’s Php 455 million.
RHI Chairman Pedro E. Roxas said the Group has put in place measures to address the low cane supply situation, particularly in its Central Azucarera de la Carlota plant in Negros Occidental.
“We hope to stabilize the cane supply situation across all our operations in Negros Occidental and Batangas through the programs we have started to roll out,” Roxas said.
President and Chief Executive Officer Renato C. Valencia said the low cane supply also affected the Group’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), which dropped by 10 percent to Php1.16 billion from previous year’s Php1.28 billion.
“Most of our subsidiaries performed positively in the third quarter and we are looking at further improving results by the fourth quarter,” he said.
Last May, RHI acquired majority of San Carlos Bioenergy Corp. in Negros Occidental, in addition to its Roxol Bioenergy Corp. also in the same province, making the Group one of the biggest ethanol players in the Philippines.
RHI is also a leading Philippine sugar refiner and manufacturer with its Central Azucarera Don Pedro, Inc. in Batangas; and Central Azucarera de la Carlota, Inc. and Hawaiian-Philippine Company, Inc. in Negros Occidental. (PNA)