Profit sharing. Charity at Philippine Trust Co., (Philtrust) does not begin and end only in the board; it covers just about everybody else who contributes to the bank’s continued profitability. In a filing, Philtrust said it allocates 10 percent of its annual net profits before payment of income tax as bonuses with 3.667 percent going to the employees, referring to rank-and-file employees; another 3.667 percent to the officers and 2.666 percent to the directors. The bank says it has institutionalized this profit-sharing policy by making it a provision in its bylaws. The same filing shows the bank may give more this year as it did in 2007, when its net income topped the billion-peso mark for the first time. With its surging profits, Philtrust is slightly raising by 0.485 percent the pay and perks this year of its five highest paid executives to P13.045 million (salary, P5.361 million; bonus, P1.601 million; other perks, P6.083 million) from P12.982 million (salary, P5.361 million; bonus, P1.583 million; other perks, P6.083 million) in 2007.

(Philtrust projected in its 2006 annual report the pay and perks of its five top executives at P11.362 million in 2007. This means the actual compensation the bank paid its five top executives in 2007 breached its projection by P1.62 million, or 14.258 percent.)

Million-peso perks. As in other generous companies, Philtrust’s profit sharing is computed based on income before income tax, which amounted to P1.487 billion in 2007; P877.207 million in 2006; and P781.111 million in 2005. Translated: the bank’s employees, officers and 11 directors (12 including the chairman emeritus) should get P148.70 million this year for net income after tax in 2007; P87.72 million in 2006; and P78.11 million in 2005. Further computation shows that of the amount in 2007, P54.528 million will go to employees, the same amount due the officers. The rest of P39.643 million will go to the 11 members of the board, or P3.604 million each, or P3.303 million each if the group includes the chairman emeritus. Despite this generosity, the bank still reported a huge profit of P1.275 billion in 2007, or P2.55 earnings per share; P783.031 million, or P1.57 earnings per share, in 2006; and P700.692 million, or P1.40 earnings per share, in 2005.

Foreign buying. Jeremy Charles Simpson of 32/F, Three Pacific Place, 1 Queen’s Road East, Hong Kong, filed with regulators in behalf of Invesco HK Ltd. a report on the changes in Invesco-owned shares in Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI). The filing, which was posted on the web site of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) showed the continuing disposal by Invesco of FLI shares. On November 16, 2007, Invesco used to hold for various clients 1.048 million FLI shares, or 4.28 percent of 24.47 million outstanding shares, which then had market value of P1.367 billion. From November 2007, Invesco continued buying that by January 18, 2008, after buying 4.539 million shares at P1.936 each, it held 1.25 billion FLI shares, or 5.11 percent. This means in a period of two months it bought 202 million FLI shares. Invesco first hit 5-percent ownership of FLI shares on January 16, 2008, when it held 1.228 million shares, or 5.02 percent. Under the rules, a stockholder is required to file ownership report when his or her holdings reached the equivalent of 5 percent of outstanding shares.

Foreign selling. After accumulating FLI shares, Invesco unloaded its holdings that after selling 68.444 million shares at P1.06 each on March 10, 2008, the number of FLI shares it held dropped to 1.175 billion shares, or 4.82 percent, an ownership level that is no longer covered by the market’s reportorial rule. On January 25, 2008, Invesco sold 6.143 million shares at P1.1617 each. The two prices in the two transactions showed Invesco sold at a loss. From November 2007, it has been buying at prices ranging from a low of P1.80 to a high of P1.34. The PSE monitor showed that in the last 30 trading days, FLI hit a high of P1.10 and dropped to a low of P0.95. Meanwhile, Filinvest is taking advantage of the continued fall in the price of its shares by buying back its own shares. On March 26, 2008, it reacquired 200,000 shares at P1.06 each, raising the number of its treasury shares to 163.739 million shares. The reacquisition reduced Filinvest’s outstanding shares to 24.306 million.

Buyback. House of Investments, the listed holding company of the Yuchengco group, owned 456.274 million shares, or 44.056 percent, in EEI Corp. as of March 2007. A year after, its holdings in its construction unit increased to 508.795 million shares, or 49.10 percent. This means in one year, HI bought 52.512 million EEI shares, which, at 30-day high of P3.75 had market value of P196.954 million. A year ago, EEI was selling at a low of P4.60 and a high of P5.59.

AYALA Land Inc. (ALI), the largest property developer in the country, is allotting P24 billion for capital expenditure this year, a sum 60-percent higher than the P15-billion capex it set in 2007.

RP’s IT labor pool not growing fast enough

THE Philippines’ labor pool for the information technology industry growing, but not fast enough, a recently concluded study shows.

GLOBE Telecom is not slowing down when it comes to investment in its 3G (third generation) mobile-network business. It will, in fact, increase spending this year to anywhere from $60 million to $63 million from the $40 million to $50 million last year.

LISTED property developer Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. reported a 138-percent jump in net profit last year to P3.47 billion from P1.46 billion a year earlier.

Charity at Philippine Trust Co., (Philtrust) does not begin and end only in the board; it covers just about everybody else who contributes to the bank’s continued profitability.