SUBIC BAY FREEPORT, Sept. 7 (PNA) — After hitting record highs in financial performance for three consecutive years, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has reported another 104-percent hike in net income for the first half of the year.
SBMA chairman Roberto Garcia said unaudited figures from the agency’s Finance group placed the agency’s January-to-June net income at Php 687 million, showing a significant improvement from Php 337 million for the same period last year.
“Revenues for the first semester were pretty good as well,” Garcia said, referring to a 15 percent revenue increase from last year’s level.
Sharing the agency’s operating revenue pie were port services and regulatory fees, which increased by 29 percent and 24 percent, respectively over the same period last year.
Also contributing substantially to the agency’s financial status, Garcia said, were a 33 percent buildup in current assets, including a 38 percent increase in cash assets, and a 56 percent rise in miscellaneous assets such as prepaid expenses, guaranty deposits, mobilization funds given in advance to contractors, and others.
Tight control was also implemented as far as operating expenses were concerned.
Meanwhile, SBMA’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) jumped 18 percent.
”This means that the agency is not only pursuing effective strategic initiatives, but is implementing them efficiently as well,” Garcia added.
The SBMA top executive also noted that the first semester saw a much improved business climate in the Freeport, which led to better bottom lines for the Subic agency and its locators, as well as the start-up operations of many new ones and a bigger workforce that would soon breach the 100,000-mark.
With this profit increase, Garcia said the SBMA was looking forward to a more positive outcome to further strengthen and sustain the agency’s financial turnaround over the past three years record performances.
“We need to provide funds for our strategic plans, including the implementation of the long-overdue salary increases for SBMA employees and the procurement of badly needed equipment for security, maintenance and infrastructure development work,” he added. (PNA)