Uniwide Group incurs P61-M loss in first quarter

The Uniwide Group of Companies incurred a net loss of P61.077 million in the first three months of 2001, hardly an improvement from a net loss of P62.169 million in the same period a year ago.

Based on financial records filed at the Securities and Exchange Commission, Uniwide Holdings Inc. and its subsidiaries generated an operating income of P92.704 million during the period in review, less than the P99.414 million income from operations a year earlier.

However, the group was able to correspondingly trim down its operating expenses from P160.587 million to P150.876 million, resulting in the slight reduction of its losses.

But the company’s operations have remained in the red as its source of revenues remains largely dependent on the performance of its retail franchisees with the continued slump in the real estate sector.

UHI, the controlling firm for the Gow family’s various business interests, still derives income from the property, lease rentals and franchise fees mainly from Uniwide Sales Warehouse Club Inc., the franchisee operator of the chain of warehouse clubs and department stores.

Other subsidiaries include Uniwide Sales Realty and Resources Corp., Naic Resources Development Corp., Uniwide Sales Inc., and First Paragon Corp.

The Uniwide group has been burdened by a heavy debt load and has been suffering losses since 1998, forcing it to seek a debt payment reprieve from the SEC and submit to a supervised rehabilitation program.

But with the way things are going, the prospects for its rehabilitation remain bleak as no other "white knight" investor has come its rescue since the French retail giant Casino Guichard-Perrachon abandoned plans to infuse fresh capital into the company last January.

Although there were earlier reports that several interested parties led by the US Wal-Mart chain and two investor groups from Hong Kong and Taiwan have sent feelers for exploratory buy-in negotiations with Uniwide, there has been no indications of any breakthrough agreements yet, which apparently made the SEC "grow impatient." – Conrado Diaz Jr.