Del Rosario-led PHINMA Corporation reported that its consolidated net income inched up 1.3 percent to P490.9 million in the first quarter of 2024 from the P484.56 million earned in the comparative period last year.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said core consolidated net income, which excludes revaluation adjustments and non-recurring items, dropped 19.7 percent to P448.29 million from P558.49 million in the first quarter of 2023.

PHINMA Chairman and CEO Ramon R. del Rosario, Jr. said the Company's latest performance shows its commitment to serving underserved communities even as challenges linger. 

"We entered 2024 with optimism, as our education, construction materials, property development, and hospitality businesses build on investments and best practices from the previous year. 

“We are challenging our business units to do in their sectors, starting with housing, what we are doing in education in serving the needs of the underserved," he said.

He added that, "All these we continue in line with our call to use business as a force for good, as a means to improve lives and the nation as a whole.”

"For the rest of the year, PHINMA will continue maximizing our strengths as we begin to reap the benefits of consolidating within the Group," said PHINMA President and COO Dr. Chito B. Salazar.

He noted that, “Improving on our efficiencies and seeking further growth opportunities will bolster our efforts to make lives better by providing access to essential goods and services.”

Consolidated revenues rose 14 percent to P5.45 billion in the first quarter of 2024 from the P4.78 billion registered from January to March last year, with the strong performance from PHINMA Education primarily driving the Group's first quarter results.

PHINMA Construction Materials Group (PHINMA CMG) also sustained positive figures despite challenges in the industry. PHINMA Properties cut down its marketing costs to help its bottom line, while the Hospitality business logged improvements in occupancy and average daily rates for the first three months of 2024.

PHINMA Education Holdings, Inc. recorded P1.88 billion in consolidated revenues for the quarter—up 26 percent annually mainly due to robust enrollment growth, as second semester figures for School Year 2023-2024 also rose 14 percent from the same period last year.

Improved collection efficiency also brought down provisions for expected credit losses. These all led to PHINMA Education posting a consolidated net income of P701.38 million from January to March.

PHINMA CMG logged revenues of P3.05 billion and a combined net income of P27.71 million for the three-month period. The group continued facing hurdles in the quarter amid a challenging macroeconomic environment, which included a stronger U.S. dollar and elevated interest rates. 

Nevertheless, UGC saw higher sales volumes growth with commercial construction projects and residential expansions in full swing. 

Philcement also began regaining momentum after a sluggish January, but remained challenged given the tight competitive environment. It has also begun producing and selling its product Union Cement from the Petra Cement facility in Zamboanga del Norte after concluding talks with Petra Cement last year.

Meanwhile, PHINMA Solar has started preparatory activities such as applications for incentives for the installation of the 58 projects the company secured during the second Green Energy Auction Program.

For the first quarter this year, PHINMA Properties recognized revenues of P316.75 million while the bottom line was at a net loss of P136.19 million. Sales reservations remain strong and PHINMA Properties will book more revenues as projects are constructed.

The Company's combined revenues from Coral Way City Hotel Corporation (Coral Way), PHINMA Hospitality, and PHINMA Microtel reached P142.28 million in the first three months of 2024, while net income stood at P19.07 million. 

The quarter saw continued increase in revenues due to strong domestic travel coupled with an increase in international arrivals, as well as the rise in average daily rates across the chain.