Aboitiz Group bares 2018 growth plans for Cebu
The Aboitiz Group’s Cebuano businesses–VECO, CitySavings, AboitizLand, and Aboitiz Construction–are embarking on expansion plans this year as the group sustains its thrust to advance business and communities.
“Our quest to improve will not stop. We will continue to challenge ourselves by improving key performance indices through process innovation and technology that will bring faster and more reliable service delivery,” Jim Aboitiz, AboitizPower Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Distribution Business Group, said.
“Our power plants are economic drivers in our host localities and our distribution utilities (DUs) are hand-in-hand with the economic progress of the communities they serve–our customers whose businesses we support employ thousands of Filipinos,” Aboitiz added.
This year, AboitizPower will commision its 340-MW TVI baseload plant in Toledo City, synchronizing its first unit with the grid. VECO, the country’s second-largest privately-owned DU, has several substation projects within its franchise area which are due for completion this year and are expected to provide an additional 78.5 MVA in substation capacity to its network.
VECO also expects to maintain system loss at 6.5% (lower than the Energy Regulatory Commission-mandated cap of 8.5%) by the end of 2018. Furthermore, the DU projects to grow its kilowatt-hour sales by 6.49% to 3,044.33 gWh and generate a total of P23.49 billion in gross revenue this year.
CitySavings will continue to expand outside the teachers segment, with possible acquisitions in the pipeline, in order to fast-track capabilities in providing financial services to underserved Filipinos. Growth will come from non-traditional loan products for pensioners (GSIS/SSS), OFWs, and, soon, seafarers. Adhering to its Simple is Good philosophy, CitySavings will continue to provide quality financial assistance and seek new opportunities for financial inclusion to underserved sectors.
With a bulk of its land bank located in the province, AboitizLand will focus on three Cebu projects this year: Foressa Mountain Town in Balamban, Cebu’s first mountain town residential community; Amoa in Compostela, a 60-hectare residential development which is opening its third phase after two years of sustained sales take-up; and Gatewalk Central in Cebu City, a joint-venture commercial development with Ayala Land. These projects are in full swing and will serve and nurture Cebu’s communities once completed.
Aboitiz Construction expects a busy year ahead with several projects in its pipeline, namely a power plant in Sarangani, a petrochemical plant in Bataan, a Philippine mining firm, fabrication works for Korean, Japanese, Australian, and local companies, and even AboitizLand’s The Outlets commercial development in Lipa City, Batangas among others. While leveraging on its existing Japanese and Chinese engineering, procurement, and construction partnerships, Aboitiz Construction will simultaneously work on boosting its recurring income by expanding maintenance works for industries similar to mining and shipbuilding. As a result, the company aims to double its revenues this year versus 2017.
