SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has posted a net income of P1.556 billion in 2014, a substantial increase of 40 percent compared to P1.11 billion in 2013.
SBMA Chairman and Administrator Robert V. Garcia said that this is the third consecutive year that the SBMA hit a record high in its financial performance.
Garcia said that last year’s revenues from port operations, tourism and industrial commercial leases rose to P2.442 billion, a 21-percent rise against 2013 figures, while the agency’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, or net operating profit, hit P1.391 billion, or 51 percent, over the previous year.
With the port congestion in Manila, some importers shifted to Subic, causing port revenues to hit P909 million, or an increase of 45 percent.
Significantly, containerized volumes jumped to 77,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, or an increase of 105 percent, while locator export volumes, likewise, increased to $2.3 billion, or a 59- percent increase from the previous year.
Likewise, tourism registered substantial revenue gains, with a 61-percent jump driven by a 12-percent hike in tourist traffic.
Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions events chalked up an increase of 150 percent, while sports events rose 75 percent to make Subic Bay the No. 1 tourist destination in Central Luzon.
Industrial and commercial leases hit P1.050 billion, up 13 percent from previous years, as more businesses flocked to the free port.
These and other expansion projects of existing locators caused jobs to increase from 89,584 in 2013 to 96,958 in 2014, providing 7,374 new jobs, or an increase of 8 percent.
Reflecting the SBMA’s robust growth on all fronts are the cash collections of the Bureau of Internal
Revenue’s P1.8 billion and the Bureau of Customs’ P15.290 billion, which improved by 27 percent and 36 percent respectively in 2014.
Lastly, the 5 percent tax collected from locators in the freeport rose to P497 million, or a 35 percent increase over 2013.
SBMA remitted the said tax collection with P199 million going to the eight local government units surrounding the Freeport, while P298 million was remitted to the National Government Treasury.
The total contribution of SBMA to the national economy amounted to P17.638 billion.
Garcia said the agency’s sterling three-year record performance could be attributed to good governance, the implementation of its strategic initiatives, and the hard work of the agency’s management and employees.
PNA