Phinma eyes SE Asia school acquisitions, property deals in PH

Phinma Corp., the listed diversified group led by businessman Ramon del Rosario Jr., is gearing up for further expansion in 2022 as it plans to acquire more schools in the country and Southeast Asia while exploring new property ventures under its real estate arm.

This comes as Phinma saw profits last year jump 259 percent to P1.87 billion while revenues rose over 30 percent to P16.01 billion.

“Based on the proven resiliency and innovative strategies of its business units, we believe Phinma Corp. has established a strong base for sustained growth,” according to a joint message to stockholders by Del Rosario, chair and CEO, and Oscar Hilado, chair emeritus, in the company’s 2021 annual report.

Phinma revenues last year were bolstered by the acquisition of its 10th tertiary school.

33% more enrollees

Under Phinma Education Holdings, the company operates schools in the Philippines and Indonesia with total enrolled students of 94,452, a 33-percent increase from the previous year.

“Phinma Education is eager to continue its expansion in order to capture more of its underserved market,” the message to stockholders read.

“Apart from this, it has been working on increasing capacity in its existing schools in light of growing enrollment and looks forward to pursuing expansion in other Southeast Asian countries,” it added.

Phinma Properties, which delayed new project launches during the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to roll out new housing projects in “emerging cities outside central business districts in order to capture a shift in demand trends driven by the pandemic.”

The company said this would include Phinma Maayo San Jose (Batangas) and Phinma Maayo Tugbok (Davao).

It was also evaluating expansion into townships or integrated property developments outside Metro Manila.

Another major revenue source is the Phinma Construction Materials Group. This includes Union Galvasteel Corp., Philcement Corp. and Phinma Solar Energy Corp.

The company expects the segment to “gear up for further growth in anticipation of the expected strong recovery of the construction sector.”

The group also operates hotels via Phinma Hospitality Inc. These include 14 Microtel by Wyndham hotels and one TRYP by Wyndham hotel in the Philippines.

“[W]hile the hotel industry is expected to continue to face challenges, we remain optimistic in the gradual recovery of international and domestic travel,” Del Rosario and Hilado said in their joint address.

—Miguel R. Camus INQ
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