OFW inflows boost iRemit first half profit

MANILA, Philippines – iRemit Corp., the largest non-bank Filipino-owned remittance firm, expects its net profit in the first half of the year to surpass its target by 5-10 percent, mainly due to improving inflows from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

iRemit owner Ben Tiu said the company continues to outpace industry growth amid a challenging business environment.

Company president and chief operating officer Harris Jacildo, said while there has been a slowdown in the growth of remittances, iRemit expects the pace to pick up again towards the latter part of the year as remittances rise in time for the Christmas season.

Remittance inflows grew 3.7 percent in May, bringing the year-to-date total to $7 billion from $6.8 billion the previous year-period.

Jacildo said the strong demand for Filipino workers will continue to drive remittance growth, noting that only 63 percent of the over 758,000 job orders had been filled up.

Aside from this, the government expects more Filipinos to be employed abroad after the Philippines entered into hiring agreements with countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Canada and Australia.

To ensure long-term growth, iRemit continues to further widen its presence through partnerships and establishment of outlets in other countries with a large concentration of OFWs and those that present attractive prospects for growth.

Plans are underway to open offices in Macau, Italy and Switzerland.

The company also plans to expand its partnerships in the Middle East and penetrate Greece through a tie-up.

iRemit will open its fifth branch in Canada in Edmonton, in the province of Alberta, this month.

The company currently operates in 26 countries and territories worldwide.

To expand its base of pick-up centers and achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction, iRemit teamed up and signed distribution agreements with Maybank Philippines and Philippine Savings Bank.

With the expected implementation of its new foreign remittance system in the latter part of this year, iRemit intends to offer new services to cater to the evolving needs of OFWs.

iRemit has allotted P100 million to P150 million for its capital expenditures this year.

Last year, iRemit handled $1.1 billion worth of remittances, up 42 percent from the previous year and exceeding the industry’s 37 percent growth. It expanded its operations in the Pacific region last year, opening new branches in New Zealand, Perth and Liverpool in Australia.