the Outsider - PSE Points to Ponder

  The Philippine food company has already declared ₱900 million in dividends this year. Matching last year’s roughly ₱1.5 billion distribution appears within reach, though much depends on whether a sharp buildup in inventory turns back into cash. RFM Corporation entered 2026 with a familiar attraction for investors: a generous dividend backed by a profitable food business and billions of pesos in liquid assets. Halfway through the year, that dividend still looks secure. The company has declared ₱900 million through June , leaving it about ₱600 million short of matching the roughly ₱1.5 billion distributed in 2025. RFM has enough cash and marketable investments to bridge the difference. But its latest financial statements present a less straightforward picture of where the money is coming from. RFM’s dividend is currently well supported by earnings and balance-sheet liquidity . It is not yet fully supported by reported 2026 free cash flow . The company remained profitable in the fi...

The Philippine developer reported stronger residential sales and higher quarterly profit, but heavy project spending, contracting operating margins and weaker hotel profitability complicated the picture. Shang Properties, one of the Philippines’ most prominent luxury-property developers, entered the middle of 2026 with more buildings under construction, more condominium revenue recognized, and sharply higher quarterly profit. But beneath the favorable headline numbers, the company’s latest financial report presented a more complicated story: Revenue grew, but costs grew faster. Cash continued to leave the business. Although Shang Properties reduced its bank borrowings, its net debt increased because its cash reserves fell faster. For the three months ended June 30, Shang Properties — traded on the Philippine Stock Exchange under the symbol SHNG — reported revenue of ₱2.73 billion , an increase of 9.3 percent from ₱2.50 billion a year earlier. Net income rose nearly 24 percent to ₱1.12...

  Buying First Gen could give Prime Infrastructure a listed vehicle, end a damaging control dispute, and provide the Lopez group with enough capital to repair its empire—including ABS-CBN. Sometimes the price of corporate peace is best expressed per share. For the Lopez family, that figure may be ₱81 . At that price, First Gen Corporation would carry an equity value of approximately ₱291 billion , or about US$4.75 billion . That would represent a formidable premium over FGEN’s recent market price near ₱20, but it would also recognize the hidden value of its interest in Energy Development Corporation, its remaining gas exposure, hydroelectric assets, pumped-storage investments, and an unusually liquid parent balance sheet. FGEN has approximately 3.597 billion common shares outstanding, making the arithmetic straightforward. The most plausible buyer need not be found abroad. Enrique Razon Jr.’s Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. is already doing business with FGEN on both sides of the...

  The global port operator generated more than $1 billion in operating cash flow and nearly $590 million in profit attributable to shareholders. Excluding changes in its terminal portfolio, its EBITDA margin would have widened to 66.2 percent. International Container Terminal Services Inc., the global port operator led by billionaire businessman Enrique K. Razon Jr., reported sharply higher earnings for the first half of 2026, supported by higher tariffs, a more profitable cargo mix and growing revenue from services beyond basic container handling. For the six months ended June 30, ICTSI’s gross revenue from port operations rose 27.1 percent to $1.92 billion , from $1.51 billion a year earlier. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, increased 24.3 percent to $1.23 billion , while consolidated net income climbed 22.4 percent to $641.4 million .  Net income attributable to ICTSI shareholders reached almost $590 million , up 21.9 percent from $...

  Metrobank’s interest engine accelerated in the first half of 2026. BDO, however, paired loan growth with expanding deposits, steadier noninterest revenue and tighter cost control. MANILA — The first-half results of the Philippines’ two largest listed banks offered an instructive contrast in how lenders can produce nearly identical profit growth from very different operating performances. Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company, or Metrobank, reported the faster expansion in its core interest-earning business. Its net interest income rose 12.8 percent from a year earlier, outpacing the 10.6 percent increase reported by BDO Unibank. But BDO’s overall result was more balanced. It grew loans and deposits together, increased noninterest income and held expense growth below the rate of revenue expansion. Metrobank, by contrast, contended with shrinking deposits, a sharp decline in trading-related revenue and faster growth in operating costs. The result was an unusual near tie at the bot...