PHILIPPINE stocks fell for a third day Thursday, the market’s longest losing streak in a month. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) dropped for a seventh day after the company said it hasn’t sold its stake in a satellite business, reversing a previous statement.

Globe Telecom Inc. and Ayala Land Inc. slumped for the third day after the companies reported earnings that missed analyst estimates. San Miguel Corp. advanced after the company said its Australian unit posted higher earnings in 2006.

“Most investors are not satisfied with the earnings that have come out so far,” said Ron Rodrigo, head of research at Unicapital Securities Inc. “It is hard for stocks to sustain their climb if some investors are disappointed.”

The Philippine Stock Exchange Composite Index fell 36.31, or 1.1 percent, to 3,196.08 at the close, after sliding 1.5 percent in the previous two days. The index, which has advanced 7.1 percent this year, last declined this long in the three-days ended January. 8.

PLDT, the nations largest phone company, fell P60, or 2.4 percent, to P2,470, adding to a 4.2-percent, six-day slide. The stock had its longest losing streak since the seven-day decline that ended December 14.

The company said Wednesday that it hasn’t sold its stake in ACeS International Ltd. or ACeS System satellite-based business.

PLDT president Napoleon Nazareno told Bloomberg in a February 6 interview that the stake had been sold and gains from the sale would be included in the company’s 2006 profit.

“The market is confused about what the company has done with the satellite business,” Rodrigo said. “At the same time, people expect that its earnings will not be spectacular because of Globe Telecom’s performance.” 

Earnings disappoint

GLOBE Telecom, the nation’s second-biggest mobile phone company, fell P25, or 1.8 percent, to P1,360, extending a two-day 1.8-percent slump. It’s the stock’s third drop in a row after the company said February 5 that fourth-quarter profit fell 36 percent to P2.5 billion.

Ayala Land, the nation’s most profitable builder, slid 50 centavos, or 3 percent, to P16.25, extending a 4.3- percent loss in the previous two days. The builder said after trading closed on February 5 that its profit last year rose 7 percent to P3.9 billion, less than the P4.3-billion forecast by analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

San Miguel’s Class B, equity with no ownership restrictions in the nation’s largest food and beverage company, added 50 centavos, or 0.6 percent, to P79. Its Class A shares, equity reserved for Filipinos, gained as much as 0.8 percent before last trading unchanged at P64.50.

The company said Wednesday that operating profit at its National Foods Ltd. unit in Australia rose 10 percent last year to $133 million.

Shares worth P4.72 billion were traded, 56 percent more than the six-month daily average. Losers beat gainers 58 to 50, with 60 stocks unchanged.

Banco de Oro (BDO PM), a lender owned by the richest Filipino Henry Sy Sr,, rose P1, or 1.9 percent, to P54.50 after its share-price estimate was raised 44 percent by Macquarie Securities Ltd., citing loan-growth prospects and benefits from a merger with Equitable PCI Bank.

The stock may climb to P78 in the next 12 months, compared with a November forecast of P54, Gilbert Lopez, an analyst at Macquarie Securities, said in a note to clients Thursday. The new forecast represents a 43 percent gain from Banco de Oro’s price Thursday. Equitable PCI, the nation’s third-largest lender by assets, rose 50 centavos, or 0.5 percent, to P96.50, snapping a two-day, 2-percent slump.

Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC PM), a company that outsells McDonald’s Corp. in the Philippines, gained 50 centavos, or 1.2 percent, to P44, its first gain this week. Fourth-quarter earnings “are very strong” and exceed expectations, chief financial officer Ysmael Baysa said Thursday in a television interview with Bloomberg News.

Paxys Inc. (PAX PM), a Philippine call-center operator, rose P1, or 4.2 percent, to P25, its biggest gain in two weeks. Paxys said Thursday that it’s in negotiations for the purchase of an India-based company that provides outsourced business services.

STOCKHOLDERS of publicly traded Boulevard Holdings Inc. (BHI) have approved an increase in the company’s authorized capital stock from P200 million to P5 billion during the annual stockholders’ meeting Wednesday.

PHILIPPINE stocks fell for a third day Thursday, the market’s longest losing streak in a month. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) dropped for a seventh day after the company said it hasn’t sold its stake in a satellite business, reversing a previous statement.

The talk is Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chairman Helen Yuchengco-Dee is giving new president and chief executive officer Lorenzo Tan a free hand (read: minimal meddling) to transform a middling bank into a bank to reckon with again. This means some long-time officers may have to be reassigned to make the most of their, uhm, competencies.

SEEING the potential of its meetings and banquet trade this year due to the growing demand of corporate guests for additional business utilities within its premise, The Richmonde Hotel is mulling over the expansion of its facilities by converting a portion of its topmost floor into four functions rooms, the hotel’s top executive recently disclosed.

EVEN as corporate lodging has remained a fad and a stopgap measure that local real estate companies use to compensate for excessive vacancies in residential properties, it has actually become a staple for the hospitality industry.