PhilWeb posts record profit in 2011

MANILA, Philippines -  PhilWeb Corp., the country’s first and largest listed online technology firm, reported a record net income of P914 million last year, 45 percent higher than the previous year’s level, on the back of strong growth in its core e-Games Cafe business as well as new businesses in Asia Pacific.

PhilWeb president Dennis Valdes noted that this marked the sixth consecutive year of income growth and that they are now just shy of cracking the billion-peso mark in earnings.

He also noted that this performance had been recognized by Forbes Asia magazine which included PhilWeb in its 2011 Best Under a Billion list, the publication’s annual listing of the 200 best performing publicly-listed companies in Asia Pacific with sales under $1 billion.

Additionally, PhilWeb was one of only three companies to garner an additional special award, as the Most Profitable Company, among those that made the list. This is the second year in a row that PhilWeb has been recognized for both awards by Forbes Asia. PhilWeb’s net income represents a profit margin of 60 percent as measured against its revenues of P1.2 billion.

Valdes noted that PhilWeb is now one of the most significant revenue contributors to state-run gaming agency Philippine Arrangement Gaming Corp. (Pagcor). Last year, PhilWeb remitted a total of P1.7 billion to the agency, 34 percent more than in 2010. This amount comes without a single centavo of capital expenditure or operating expense on Pagcor’s part, and therefore flows directly to its bottom line.

The real excitement in PhilWeb, Valdes said, comes from their new endeavors in Asia Pacific. These include The Sweeps Center, a cafe in Guam, and scratch cards businesses in Timor Leste and Cambodia. “We are also hopeful to gain new licenses in other Asia Pacific countries this year,” he said.

PhilWeb declared dividends twice in 2011, doubling the amount that was paid out in the previous year. Valdes said that the company fully expects to continue declaring dividends in 2012 and beyond.