Anscor profits drop but recovery expected

Net profits of listed holding firm A. Soriano Corp. (Anscor) dropped by almost two-thirds to P289 million last year as units posted lower sales. In a statement, Anscor said financial asset gains had been offset by the poor performance of its businesses, which were affected by waning demand due to the slow economy. Revenues declined by almost a quarter to P1.736 billion. The holding company is expected to perform better this year amid economic recovery, Anscor Chairman and President Andres Soriano III told reporters at the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting in Makati on Wednesday. Major units include Phelps Dodge Philippines Energy Products Corp., which makes wire and cable products; Seven Seas Resorts and Leisure, Inc., which owns and operates the Amanpulo Resort at Pamalican Island in Palawan; Cirrus Medical Staffing, Inc., which owns a health care staffing business in the US; and Enderun Colleges, Inc., which offers degrees in hotel and restaurant management and culinary arts. Soriano said the nursing business in the US would have a "very difficult year" until the unemployment situation improves. Last year, net earnings of Phelps Dodge fell by a fifth to P165 million due to low copper prices, while profits of Seven Seas went down by more than three-quarters to P42 million after occupancy slid by almost half. "Tourism is great in this country but the infrastructure is not," Soriano said, adding that additional costs from infrastructure bottlenecks have made the group’s resort business uncompetitive. Shares of Anscor, incorporated in 1930, closed at P2.16 apiece. — Neil Jerome C. Morales, BusinessWorld