RESTAURANT operator Pancake House Inc. (PHI) ended 2007 with a consolidated net profit of P63.4 million, up 58 percent from P40.15 million a year earlier.

The growth was boosted by a 17-percent upsurge in revenues from P1.38 billion in 2006 to P1.61 billion last year.

The Lorenzo-led PHI is a leading player in casual dining through its flagship brand Pancake House. It also owns and operates various restaurant brands directly or through subsidiaries that include Dencio’s, Teriyaki Boy, Singkit, Sizzlin’ Pepper Steak and Le Coeur De France.

In a report to the stock exchange, PHI said total revenues from Pancake House operations in 2007 amounted to P980 million from P893 million in 2006, bolstered by new outlets opened last year. The same goes with Teriyaki Boy, which generated revenues of P619 million from P482 million a year earlier. Singkit’s revenues also increased 165 percent from the previous year due to increased store sales of company-owned outlets and franchise income received from its first franchisee.

Meanwhile, net income from combined Pancake House and Dencio’s divisions increased to P60 million in 2007 from P27.3 million the previous year. Teriyaki Boy, on the other hand, contributed a net income of P11.9 million, lower than 2006’s P15 million.

Singkit, for its part, still incurred a loss of P1.6 million from a loss of P2.1 million in 2006. The group currently operates over 150 restaurants in various parts of the country.

THE strong performance of the economy last year had a positive impact on the financial results of cement maker Holcim Philippines Inc., boosting its net income to P2.2 billion from P1.5 billion a year earlier.

Cebu Air unfazed by PAL Express

CEBU Air Inc., also known as Cebu Pacific, says it is unfazed by the entry of PAL Express—the newly established low-fare unit of Philippine Airlines (PAL)—and remains confident it would emerge as the country’s top domestic airline.

RESTAURANT operator Pancake House Inc. (PHI) ended 2007 with a consolidated net profit of P63.4 million, up 58 percent from P40.15 million a year earlier.

COMPUTER maker Hewlett-Packard Co. has launched a new “family” of disk arrays at entry-level prices put within the reach of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

THE Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) said Wednesday it will sell separately, in a public bidding, the trading rights and shares owned in the bourse by suspended brokerage firm Asian Capital Equities Inc. (ACEI).

PCD Nominee Corp. held for foreigners 253.994 million shares, or 21.80 percent of 1.165 billion outstanding shares, in First Gen Corp. as of December 31, 2007 and 204.46 million shares, or 17.55 percent as of March 31, 2008.