PUBLICLY traded Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. said its net income in 2007 grew 515 percent to P289 million from P47 million a year earlier on the back of higher revenues from its nickel unit, Berong Nickel Corp.

Consolidated revenues amounted to P1.34 billion versus P64 million in 2006. Of the amount, P1.25 billion was delivered by BNC’s sale of saprolite and limonite ore equivalent to 530,168 wet metric tons at an average of 1.53-percent nickel, which were shipped to Australian and Chinese buyers. Berong Nickel’s direct shipping operations in Palawan commenced in the early part of 2007.

Meanwhile, interest income earned from interest-bearing deposit instruments rose P80 million in 2007 compared with the P340,000 recorded a year ago. Proceeds from the $100-million loan secured by Atlas Consolidated’s copper subsidiary Carmen Copper Corp. from Deutsche Bank comprised largely the deposit accounts of the group.

Cost of sales amounted to P317 million last year compared to nothing in the previous year. However, general and administrative expenses rose to P914 million as against the P398-million incurred in 2006. The increase was attributed mainly to Carmen Copper, which is undertaking the rehabilitation of mine facilities in Toledo City, Cebu.

The rehab is already in its advanced stage and is expected to come on stream in the latter part of 2008.

IN line with a strategy to dispose of non-core assets, Benpres Holdings Corp. of the Lopezes said it has sold its 18-percent ownership in Professional Services Inc.—owner and operator of the upscale The Medical City—for P600 million.

Filinvest to spend P500M on BPO space

GOTIANUN-led Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) is spending P500 million this year to fund the completion of office spaces intended for the business process outsourcing (BPO) market.

SINGAPORE—Oracle Corp., the world’s largest enterprise software developer, is anticipating rapidly growing demand for improved Business Intelligence (BI) solutions with far more powerful applications that go beyond simple data collection and reporting.

CEBU CITY—SPi, a unit of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) that provides outsourcing and offshoring (O and O) solutions, is rapidly expanding operations here in an effort to transfer a chunk of its projects into the country from the US.

PUBLICLY traded Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. said its net income in 2007 grew 515 percent to P289 million from P47 million a year earlier on the back of higher revenues from its nickel unit, Berong Nickel Corp.

There are three dates that the public investors generally monitor and remember when a listed company declares dividends. To illustrate: The board of directors of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. approved on March 26, 2008, which is the approval date, a P0.825-per-share dividend, which it will pay its stockholders as of April 30, 2008, which is the record date, on May 27, 2008, which is the payment date.