Listed sugar and ethanol producer Roxas Holdings, Inc. reported a higher net loss of P240 million for the first quarter of its fiscal year ending in September 30, 2021 from a net loss of P36 million in the same period last year.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said this includes a P247 million non-recurring gain from the sale of an investment in the same period last fiscal year.
RHI said it has recently re-organized its operations following the completion of the sale of its assets in La Carlota City in September 30, 2020.

According to RHI Chairman Pedro E. Roxas, the first quarter of operations for the remaining business units of the Group showed a loss as there were very limited transactions for the period given the seasonal nature of the business.
“We started the distillery operations of our San Carlos Bioenergy, Inc. in October 2020, while milling in Central Azucarera Don Pedro, Inc. began in mid-December 2020, after completing the off-season repairs and maintenance activities of these plants. This is the inherent seasonality in the Group’s operations which coincides with the availability of sugarcanes,”
Roxas said.
RHI President Celso T. Dimarucut said that the Group remains optimistic that operations of the remaining businesses of the Group will perform better than last year despite the challenges facing the industry, including more rain than usual expected this year due to the La Niña phenomenon.
Total ethanol production for the first quarter ended December 31, 2020 of 5.66 million liters was 75 percent higher than the 3.26 million liters produced during the same period last year.
The Group expects to complete next quarter the arrangements with major creditor banks to term out existing short-term loans, he added.(James A. Loyola)