Smart tops SEC’s list of most profitable firms for 2nd straight year

Mobile phone firm Smart Communications Inc. remained the country’s most profitable company for the second straight year, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2005 edition of the Philippines 5000, an annual listing of the largest 5,000 corporations in the country.

Smart, a subsidiary of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., posted a net income of P19.61 billion in 2004, up 21.65 percent from the previous year. In terms of sales, however, the cellular firm ranked only fifth with revenues of P65.89 billion, an increase of 32.26 percent from the year-ago level.

The top revenue grosser for 2004, on the other hand, was Baguio-based electronics firm Texas Investments (TI) Phils. Inc. with gross sales of P158.6 billion, slightly lower than 2003’s P159.41 billion. TI, however, ranked only 16th in profitability.

Smart’s parent PLDT bagged second place in the moneymakers list with earnings of P17.71 billion, or an increase of 58.41 percent from P11.18 billion posted in 2004. It ranked seventh in terms of sales.

On third, fourth and fifth spots in the most profitable list are telecommunications firms Bayan Telecommunications Inc. with earnings of P14.28 billion, Bayan Telecommunications Holdings Corp. (P14.04 billion), and Globe Telecom (P11.26 billion), respectively.

Completing the top 10 list of moneymakers are independent power producers Mirant Philippines Corp. (P10.77 billion) and Mirant Sual Corp. (P7.73 billion), another PLDT mobile unit Pilipino Telephone Corp. (P9.75 billion), Bank of the Philipine Islands (P6.67 billion), and Nestle Phils. (P6.13 billion).

Rounding off the top 10 grossers for 2004, meanwhile, are Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) which maintained its number two position with revenues of P148.32 billion followed by Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. (P126.88 billion), chipmaker Toshiba Information Equipment Phils. (P100.34 billion), Smart (P65.89 billion), Caltex Phils (P64.73 billion), PLDT (P64.71 billion), Nestle (P62.95 billion), Globe Telecom (P54.33 billion), and Fujitsu Computer Products Corp. of the Philippines (P49.55 billion).