5 Philippine Companies Make It To Forbes List of Asia’s “Best Under A Billion”
Five Philippine firms from varying industries have landed on this year’s Forbes Asia’s list of the top 200 public companies with less than $1 billion in revenue but have shown consistent growth.
The Philippine companies included on the list include listed holding company A. Soriano Corp. (Anscor), Apex Mining Co., Inc., Converge ICT Solutions, Inc., Figaro Culinary Group, and Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCom).
In terms of sales, Converge topped the list of Philippine firms with $709 million (P37.05 billion) , followed by Apex Mining with $254 million (P13.27 billion), Anscor with $226 million (P11.81 billion), PBCom with $195 million (P10.19 billion), and Figaro rounded the list at $97 million (P5.07 billion) in sales.
Converge also came ahead in net income at $189 million (P9.88 billion), with Anscor following at $82 million(P4.28 billion), Apex Mining at $76 million (P3.97 billion), PBCom at $39 million (P2.04 billion), and Figaro with $11 million (P570 million).
When looking at total market value, Converge set itself apart at a whopping $2.33 billion (P121.85 billion), followed by Apex Mining at $687 million (P35.90 billion), Anscor at $643 million (P33.60 billion), PBCom at $170 million (P8.88 billion), and Figaro at $65 million (P3.40 billion).
The Forbes Asia team picked out 200 small and midsized publicly traded companies with sales above $10 billion and below a billion dollars.
According to the International Monetary Fund, looming trade tensions in the Asia-Pacific region are expected to continue to slow.
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The business platform said that it featured the 200 companies from a pool of 19,000 publicly traded companies in the Asia-Pacific region based on a composite score measuring debt, sales, and earnings-per-share growth. These earnings were both from the most recent fiscal period and earnings over three years.
Forbes Asia said it excluded companies with serious governance issues, questionable accounting practices, environmental concerns, management problems or other legal woes in recent years. It also did away with state-run entities and units of larger companies.
“The buoyant financial services sector propelled 18 companies onto the list, more than double from the eight that appeared last year,” the publication noted. “The beauty industry continues to shine, with 13 companies, mostly South Korean, making the cut this year.”
Other firms in the region also picked up steam in fields such as renewable energy, electric vehicles and data centers.
In South Korea and the beauty industry, cosmetics distributor Silicon2 doubled sales to $507 million (P29.3 billion) riding the wave of the K-beauty’s global popularity. The company started out as a semiconductor distributor before pivoting to makeup and skincare as founder Kim Sung-woon bet on the beauty boom.
Another South Korea-based firm, PharmaResearch known for its flagship salmon DNA skincare treatment Rejuran, saw sales jump 34 percent to $257 million (P15.04 million) last year.
The demand and booming market for green energy also led to India-based KPI Green Energy to fare well with $205 million (P11.78 billion) in sales in the year that ended in March.
Taipei-based solar power and battery storage system firm HD Renewable Energy saw revenues jump to 73 percent from a year earlier to $310 million (P17.82 billion) , also capitalizing on growing demand for green energy. The company also eyed markets overseas with joint ventures with Manila, Tokyo, and Canberra.
A Rundown Of Forbes Asia’s Top Philippine Firms On The List
Converge is one of the largest broadband providers in the Philippines, servicing more than 2.7 million Filipinos in the first quarter of the year. Founded in Angeles City in 2007, the broadband firm has more than 710,000 kilometers of fiber optic assets. The ICT firm is run by businessman Dennis Uy. The fiber internet service provider also saw its total revenues reach P10.8 billion in the first quarter of the year, a 13.21 percent increase from P9.54 billion from the same period last year.
Apex Mining, which is run by billionaire Enrique Razon Jr., is one of Manila’s prolific and largest gold producers, with its southern mines seen to last until 2034 as it pumps out about 3,000 tonnes a day. The company was founded in 1970 in Pasig City and also has ventures in solid waste management projects. From January to March, Apex saw a 33 percent increase in its consolidated gross revenues to P4.5 billion from P3.4 billlion in the same period last year.
Anscor, listed as A.Soriano Corp., is a Philippine holding company run by Andres Soriano III. The Makati-based firm founded in 1930 has two main operating assets: cable and wire manufacturer Phelps Dodge Philippines and Seven Seas Resorts and Leisure, which operates the ultra luxury 90-hectare luxury island resort Amanpulo in Palawan.
PBCom is a local lender that raised about $136 million (P7.7 billion) in an oversubscribed maiden bond for debt financing and support for loan growth. As of March 31 this year, the bank has 90 regular branches, four branch-lite units, and 166 automated teller machines. Reacting to the lender’s inclusion in the list, PBCom President and CEO Patricia May Sy said this showed the bank’s resilience and strong growth over the past three to five years. PBCom is run by business magnate Lucio Co.
“As we advance toward our 2030 vision, we remain committed to delivering on our growth plans,” she said about the Forbes citation. “This award belongs to every stakeholder of PBCOM; together, we have made this achievement possible and look forward to building a future marked by continued strength and resilience.”
Figaro Culinary Group, which used to be Figaro Coffee Group, is a food and beverage firm with outlets nationwide. The company is based in Biñan, Laguna and was founded in 2018. The group owns the brands Angel’s Pizza, which has 156 branches (42 of which are franchised) and 61 Figaro Coffee outlets (26 of them are franchises). Figaro changed its name in February to expand its brand identity and to “better reflect its strategic vision.” For the first half of the fiscal year ending in June, Figaro saw a 2.5 percent revenue increase to P2.84 billion.
