LISTED Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) is spending P900 million this year to fund the expansion of its flour-milling and feed and swine production businesses.

In an interview, president and chief executive Jon Ramon Aboitiz said they expect to complete the construction on additional feed mill in Iligan and the expansion of the breeder and finisher swine farms of Fil-Am Food Inc. in Tarlac by the middle of this year.

AEV, through its unit Pilmico Foods Corp. (Pilmico), operates one of the largest and most modern milling plants in the country. Its Iligan operation currently consists of three mills with a total capacity of 1,300 metric tons (MT) a day. Once the expansion is completed, an additional 330 MT will be produced daily.

Fil-Am Food produces high-nutrition quality feeds, animal-nutrition advice and grower piglets.

The food group remains a steady income contributor for AEV, whose other ventures are in power generation and distribution, financial services and transportation.

At the end of the first quarter, income contribution from Pilmico amounted to P156 million, 20 percent higher than last year’s P130 million. Revenues of the flour business grew by 28 percent year-on-year, mainly due to higher selling prices. Earnings from wholly owned subsidiary Fil-Am Foods grew 125 percent with strong volume sales of the swine business and favorable prices for both swine and feeds.

“The food group faces another engaging year as the continued sharp increases of all commodities, primarily caused by higher worldwide demand and diversion to ethanol. We are, however, optimistic of its sustainable growth and profitability,” said Aboitiz.

AEV, as a group, posted a consolidated net income of P1.18 billion in the first quarter, from P1.08 billion last year.

Aboitiz Power Corp. continued to account for the bulk of its income at 67 percent. This was followed by the banking group with its income share amounting to 21 percent of total. The food group maintained its performance and continued to be a stable source of earnings with a 14-percent income share, while the transport group turned in a negative contribution.

The power group made P481 million, up 429 percent year-on-year, while the financial-services group contributed net earnings of P232 million. The transport group ended the quarter with a loss contribution of P22 million, vis-ŕ-vis last year’s loss of P20 million due to negative operating margins resulting from the 20-percent rise in costs and expenses.

SMART Communications Inc. will soon offer new 3G (third-generation) services that involve more complex applications following the grant of additional frequencies to the cellular firm. Smart, to date, has cornered a total of 25 Megahertz (MHz) of frequency spectrum.

Clothing firm wages war vs Harvard

A LOCAL clothing manufacturer has asked the Court of Appeals (CA) to nullify the ruling of the Office of the Director General of the Intellectual Property Office (ODG-IPO) canceling its registration for the exclusive use of “Harvard” mark for clothing, footwear and headgear.

LIBERTY Telecom Holdings Inc. (LTHI) and its subsidiaries— Liberty Broadcasting Network Inc. (LBNI) and Skyphone Logistics Inc.—on Friday asked the Makati Regional Trial Court to erase from the court records the motion to terminate the ongoing rehabilitation proceedings and to allow its liquidation, saying the motion filed by Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) is a “mere scrap of paper” and its allegations are “baseless.”

LISTED Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) is spending P900 million this year to fund the expansion of its flour-milling and feed and swine production businesses.

MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) may not have been the worst performer in the week ended May 23. But it was the big casualty among the main index stocks, having piled up a four-week loss of 21.47 percent on a government-takeover threat instigated by Winston Garcia, president and general manager of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

THE Lopez Group has said as much about the insistence of substantial stockholder Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for major changes in the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to bring down the price of electricity in Metro Manila.