Roxas Holdings trims net loss

Listed sugar and bioethanol company Roxas Holdings Inc. (RHI) has slightly reduced its net loss for the first quarter of crop year 2018 to P110 million due to improved volume of sugar sold and higher revenues.

In a disclosure to the local bourse, RHI said consolidated revenues grew by nearly 40 percent to P2.07 billion on higher raw sugar sales.

Volume of raw sugar sold surged almost two-fold to 786,000 50-kilogram bags (LKG) from 272,000 LKG, while the volume of refined sugar sold increased by 23 percent to 430,000 LKG.

RHI said while the first quarter is usually a slow period, revenues from sugar operations increased significantly to P1.8 billion from P904 million due to the sale of inventory from the previous crop year.

“We are seeing improvements in efficiencies, which resulted to higher production volumes at improved levels of production cost,” RHI president and chief executive officer Hubert Tubio said.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization amounted to P191 million, up four percent.

RHI is also expanding its alcohol business to deliver stable and consistent returns to the company.

The company’s ethanol businesses Roxol Bioenergy Corp. and San Carlos Bioenergy Corp. are the country’s biggest ethanol producers with a combined capacity of 285,000 liters per day.

RHI is the largest integrated sugar business in the Philippines which manages 100 percent of Central Azucarera Don Pedro in Batangas, and Central Azucarera de la Carlota.