Roxas Holdings income up 5% in H1 2018

Listed bio-sugar and bioenergy company Roxas Holdings Inc. (RHI) posted a five percent increase in net income for the first half of crop year 2018 due to higher revenue.

RHI said net income for the October 2017 to March 2018 period reached P80 million, an improvement from the P76 million recorded in the previous crop year.

Consolidated revenues went up eight percent to P5.3 billion from P4.9 billion despite lower sugar production and prices.

The sugar industry reeled from low prices early in the period due to increased competition brought by lowerpriced high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

However, the implementa- tion of the government’s tax reform program prompted institutional customers to shift back to sugar following higher excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages using HFCS.

“The shift in demand allowed the sugar industry to regain lost market share. With this development, we expect sugar prices to improve,” RHI chairman Pedro Roxas said.

He said RHI and its subsidiaries were able to balance the impact of the lower prices of domestic sugar and ethanol vis-à-vis the current downtrend in the world sugar market driven by the large surpluses in India and Thailand, and the jittery world ethanol market.

Furthermore, RHI is expecting a better second half amid improvements in the prices of sugar and ethanol.