CDC posts record 2017 net income

Clark Development Corp. (CDC) posted a net income of more than P1 billion last year, marking a record for the state-owned firm which manages the Clark Freeport.

In a statement, CDC said it had hit a net income of P1.03 billion, 32 percent higher than the P783 million in 2016. It was the first time in its 25-year history that CDC hit the P1-billion mark.

CDC was created in 1993 to transform and develop the former US military base into a premiere economic hub after the devastation brought about by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991.

CDC president Noel Manankil said the net income for 2017 accounted for 27 percent of the P3.8-billion total income generated by CDC in the last 24 years.

Manankil attributed the 2017 financial performance of CDC to the support of locators, investors, the national leadership and other stakeholders.

Manankil said CDC had posted a 20-percent growth in its gross revenue in 2017 to P1.98 billion from P1.64 billion in 2016. Exports also grew last year by 35 percent to $6.87 billion from $5.08 billion in 2016.

While citing an increase in export volume, Manankil also noted growth in the number of locators inside the Freeport. There are 949 locators in Clark as of last year, an increase of 54 locators from year-ago number.

CDC said employees inside the Freeport reached 108,000.

This surpassed the peak of about 50,000 employees under the former Clark Air Base.

Some of the locators are industry leaders and renown global companies like Yokohama Tires, Texas Instruments, Samsung, Nanox, Premier Central Inc (SM), Foton and Mercedes Benz.