SAN MIGUEL Corp. (SMC) President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Ang said the conglomerate is sticking to its double-digit growth target for the year despite economic uncertainties.
“As you can see in the first quarter results of San Miguel Group, we are growing double-digit on revenue and operating income,” Mr. Ang said during a virtual annual stockholders’ meeting on Tuesday.
“We will stick to the target of continuing to grow at least double-digits for year 2024,” he added.
For the first quarter, SMC’s attributable net income fell by 94% to P509 million, mainly due to foreign exchange losses.
Its consolidated revenue improved by 13% to P392.7 billion, while operating income increased by 15% to P40.5 billion.
Mr. Ang also said that SMC’s Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7) project is already about 80% complete.
MRT-7 will have 14 stations. It will run from Quezon City to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, and is projected to carry 300,000 passengers daily in its first year, and up to 850,000 passengers daily in its 12th year.
SMC is financing the construction and will operate the 23-kilometer commuter rail system after signing a 25-year concession agreement with the government.
Last year, the Transportation department said that MRT-7 would begin operations by 2025.
Mr. Ang added that SMC will assume operation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) by September.
“We are supposed to take over the operation of NAIA on Sept. 18,” Mr. Ang said.
In March, the consortium led by SMC and the Philippine government signed a concession agreement for the P170.6 billion NAIA rehabilitation project that will improve the airport’s capacity by 77% to 62 million passengers annually.
The consortium, comprised of San Miguel Holdings Corp.; RMM Asian Logistics, Inc.; RLW Aviation Development, Inc.; and Incheon International Airport Corp., has been given a 15-year concession that can be extended for another 10 years.
Mr. Ang also said the construction of SMC’s New Manila International Airport Project in Bulacan “is progressing very well.”
The Bulacan airport project will have at least four parallel runways, a terminal and a modern and interlinked infrastructure network that has expressways and railways. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
