Pacific Online Systems Corp. (POSC) reported that its net profit in the first nine months of 2014 increased 48.131 percent to P417.939 million from P282.142 million in the same period in 2013.
As of September 30, 2014, POSC has piled up retained earnings of P1.515 billion.
The company’s financial filing showed what could be a consistently profitable performance.
However, a closer look at the numbers would reveal a different picture: POSC’s operating incomes during the comparative periods dropped 12.722 percent to P299.111 million from P342.709 million.
POSC derived the reported operating income from equipment rentals; commissions from instant scratch tickets and maintenance fees. It did not have maintenance income in the comparative 2013 period.
Apparently, POSC’s profitability in the first nine months of 2014 got a big boost from “other income,” which surged 4.204 times to P228.267 million from P54.301 million.
The company’s entries under “other income” included “market-to-market gain on marketable securities, gain on the sale of marketable securities, gain on the sale of property and equipment, interest income; and foreign exchange gain.
POSC also included under “other income” a similar entry – “others,” – which rose 85.969 percent to P66.071 million from P35.528 million. POSC did not provide the details for this particular item in its financial filing.
Executive compensation
In a filing posted on the website of the Philippine Stock Exchange, ABS-CBN Corp. said it raised the salaries of its top five executives by 2.88 percent to P110.823 million in 2014 from P107.717 million in 2013, and their bonuses by 85.496 percent to P66.135 million from P35.653 million.
ABS-CBN also showed similar generosity to “all other managers and up, as a group unnamed” by raising their salaries by 2.994 percent to P1.273 billion in 2014 from P1.236 billion in 2013 and their bonuses by 47.516 percent to P527.063 million from P357.293 million. In addition, the Lopez-controlled broadcast group also gave them “other annual compensation” of P32.123 million in 2014.
In 2014, ABS-CBN estimated the salaries of its five most highly compensated executives at P110.946 million and those of “all managers and up as a group unnamed” at P1.723 billion.
ABS-CBN will hold its annual stockholders’ meeting on April 24.
From Asiatrust to NextGen
Asiatrust Development Bank Inc. said in a report to the Philippine Stock Exchange that it “has not yet embarked on any new business” apparently because “the company’s application with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) for the decrease in authorized capital stock is still under approval.”
The report showed Asiatrust is undergoing corporate changes following the acquisition of its banking assets and liabilities” by Asia United Bank.
“Since then,” Asiatrust said, “the company existed as a non-bank shell company to liquidate the trust business under BSP supervision.” BSP refers to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
As approved by its board, Asiatrust is changing its corporate identity and would soon be known as Next Genesis Holdings Corp. (NextGen).
Quasi-reorganization
Asiatrust is undergoing a quasi-reorganization to wipe out its deficit. This involves “the reduction of its authorized capital stock by decreasing the par value of its common shares from P10 to P0.64.”
As of Dec. 31, 2014, Asiatrust had accumulated a deficit of P1.093 billion, which it plans to erase through a quasi-reorganization that involves the reduction of its capital stock’s par value to P0.64 from P10.
This means the value of its authorized capital stock, consisting of 200 million shares, would no longer be P2 billion but only P128 million. Its 104,013,225 outstanding shares shown on the PSE website would carry a par value of P0.64 each, for a total of P66.568 million, from P1.04 billion at par value of P10.
By deducting P66.568 million from P1.040 billion, this would result in a reduced surplus of P973.564 million plus additional paid-in capital of P143.018 million equals P1.117 billion.
The final amount would be more than enough to cover the deficit of P1.093 billion and leave Asiatrust with a P23.623 million surplus.