Phoenix Petroleum net income up 19% Independent oil firms continue to grow as they increased their market share

from 15.8% in 2007 to 22.8% in 2010. Phoenix Petroleum, a Davao-based independent oil firm increased their net income to 19%. Consolidated revenues also expanded 86% due to 22% average increase in fuel selling price and 52% in fuel sales volume. Given the 22% average increase in fuel selling price, oil is considered inelastic which means that demand for oil is unaffected whenever the price changes. The companys fuel sales volume increase was due to continuous expansion and an increase their market share from 3.2% in 2010 to 5.33% in 2011. Demand for oil products continues to grow as Philippines continues to develop and become more industrialize. The companys sales continued to grow due to higher consumption. Given the high demand, the company plans to diversify their products with investments to lubricants and other automotive chemicals. With the growth of the Philippine economy, expect that the oil industry in the Philippine will continue to grow and further enhance the competition in the market.

DA honors countrys top rice achievers, grants P100-M agri projects, cash prizes In 2008, a global food crisis occurred which brought to food prices to rise for a while. This caused the price of grains and rice to go up in our country. Rice shortage and food security in the Philippines has been brought up despite having a lot of agricultural lands. To address this issue, the government had several programs to stabilize the food supply in our country. Programs such as NFA rice and pump priming the agricultural sector were implemented. Thus, in order to pump prime the agricultural sector, the Department of Agriculture launched a contest that will provide P100-M worth of agricultural projects to the top rice producers. The top 10 provinces were Ilocos Norte, Occidental Mindoro, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Biliran, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Agusan del Sur, and Surigao del Sur. 50 cities/municipalities were also given cash incentives along with top irrigators association. This contest aims to encourage the full support

DA honors countrys top rice achievers, grants P100-M agri projects, cash prizes The Dept. of Agriculture awarded top rice-producing provinces, cities, towns, irrigators associations (IAs), and outstanding agricultural extension workers (AEWs) with agricultural projects and cash incentives. This is in line with the governments campaign to promote Food Staples Sufficiency Program (FSSP). The contest aims to encourage and enhance the production of rice in different provinces in order to meet the governments target to attain rice sufficiency by 2013, and surplus in succeeding years. Among the top 10 provinces who will each receive P4-M worth of agricultural projects are: Ilocos Norte, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Biliran, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Agusan del Sur, and Surigao del Sur. Also, 50 cities/municipalities and top irrigators association will receive cash incentives. This will encourage the participation of respective LGUs in the provinces to further develop their agricultural production and hopefully will yield to higher production despite the countrys susceptibility to natural calamitiestyphoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, el ninothat disrupt domestic rice production and distribution complicates the food supply.

Forum Energy allots $80M for 2 Sampaguita Oil Wells Forum Energy Plc, a UK-based oil and gas firm controlled by Philex Petroleum Corp. allotted $80M to drill wells at the Sampaguita gas field within the Recto Bank. Forum Energy had previously said that based on a 2006 study, the Sampaguita field had a potential of up to 20 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, or more than 5 times the initial estimates. The Sampaguita gas field is near the Malampaya gas field, with about 2.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and which supplies fuel to three power plants for the main Luzon island. Also, the Department of Energy official said the natural gas resources in Recto Bank may even be bigger than in Malampaya. If the drilling will be successful, it will benefit the Philippines greatly especially the consumers as this will add supply to the energy sector which will then result to a cheaper electricity bills. However, with the government approval and the occurring hostilities in the area of Spratlys Islands between China and the Philippines, could disrupt the operation of Forum Energy to drill the wells.

Meralco core income seen to top P14.5B Meralco expects its 2012 net income to top its estimated P14.5 billion core profit last year. The companys sales rose 8% in January compared with the same period in 2011 on higher sales volume from commercial and industrial users as well as new connections. Since the Philippine economy is fast growing, demand for electricity increased as the Philippines continues to industrialize and it is a good sign. Electricity is an important commodity for a developing country like ours and increasing demand in the consumption of it could be due to the expansion of our economy.

Phl Seven Corp. posts 28.4% net income growth Philippine Seven Corp. is the countrys biggest convenience store operator, reported a 28.4% growth in 9 month net income to P224.4 million mainly driven by higher merchandise sales and franchise revenues. The growth was also due to their continues expansion, as a local licensee of the 7-11 who had a store count 781, it was able to operate 95 new stores. They also expanded their services as they offer bills payment, call cards, and online purchases. The company also had a partnership with PAL that allows passengers to pay for tickets booked online at 7-11 stores. Phil Seven further plan to increase their market by planning to build its presence in Metro Cebu as they plan to hit 1000 stores by 2013.