SBMA earnings increased by 12% to P1.7B in 2015

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has posted a total of P1.7 billion in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in the previous year, thereby allowing the Subic agency not only to sustain its operations but also to fund more development projects in the Subic Bay Freeport.

SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia, comparing the agency’s EBITDA in the last two years, said that the P1.7 billion earnings last year represented an increase of 11.89 per cent over the P1.5 billion record in 2014.

“This positive inflow permitted us to undertake several infrastructure projects that were designed to improve the attractiveness of the Freeport to investors,” Garcia said.

“The more we improve the Freeport, the more we earn; and the more we earn, the more we can afford further developments,” he added.

Garcia said that the 2015 earnings of P1.7 billion was derived from a total of P2.75 billion in operating revenue, less the P1.05 billion total in operating expenses.

He attributed the increase to the 12.8 per cent increase in operating revenues despite the 14.4 per cent increase in total expenditures in the same period.

According to a year-end report from the SBMA Finance Group, the SBMA posted operating revenues of P1.34 billion derived from leases; P933 million from port services; P12.6 million from tourism services; and P466.2 million from other operating incomes.

Meanwhile, the agency incurred operating expenses of P266.4 million in manpower; and P784.3 million in maintenance and other operating expenses.

As of December 31, 2015, the agency’s net income after depreciation and FOREX stood at P1.6 billion. However, a 109 per cent loss on foreign exchange pulled the income before tax down to P1.1 billion, Garcia explained.

In 2013, the SBMA under Garcia shattered its all-time record by posting P1.2 billion in net profit, along with the highest gross revenue of P2.1 billion and the highest EBITDA of P992 million in the 21-year history of the Subic institution.

The present SBMA administration headed by Garcia has been largely credited for turning around the agency’s financial standing from several years of non-profitability to attaining record earnings starting 2012.

Garcia said the SBMA continues to equal, if not surpass, its previous financial condition by attracting more investments into the Freeport. (RFD/MPD-SBMA)