PHINMA Education remains big

By Raymart Escopel

DESPITE its reduced tuition fees over the recent years, PHINMA Education, a subsidiary of conglomerate PHINMA Corporation, remains to be big as it was able to sustain its remarkable growth.

By the end of fiscal year 2014-2015, PHINMA Education aims to hit P200 million in profits, which is 25 percent higher compared to the previous year’s income.

According to PHINMA Education President and CEO Chito Salazar, their “bare bones, no frills, brass knuckles” strategy hugely contributed to their growth.

“We provide what is most necessary for our students to learn, nothing more, nothing less,” he said, noting their commitment to serve the marginalized sector.

PHINMA Education posted total revenues of P845 million in fiscal year 2013-2014, more than eight times higher than its 2004 levels. Proving to its growth is the P160 million profits that it posted in the same year. In result, its shareholders received P400 million dividends in the last seven years alone.

For this year, the shareholders are expected to receive P70 million, which is more than half the previous year’s earnings. Considering its sustained growth, PHINMA Education hopes to earn P1 billion revenues with a P200-million income by the end of the current fiscal year.

In terms of growth in its education network, PHINMA Education’s four higher education institutions located in different parts of the country posted remarkable developments.

University of Iloilo (UI), which was purchased by PHINMA Education in May 2009, for example, has made history as the first higher education institution in the country to offer as much as 20 percent reduced tuition fees.

Salazar said the standardized systems and a lean management team made PHINMA Education to have low tuition fees from an average of P28,800 in 2009 to P26,800 in June this year.

The expansion of UI-PHINMA continues as it is currently in talks with one of the leading hospital brands to offer world class allied health science programs first to Western Visayas market, he further disclosed.

As a result of its improved efficiency, PHIMA Education network has also expanded its Handog Kaibigan Scholarship which offers 50 percent subsidy on students’ fees, which currently covers 30 percent of the whole college population.

Other higher education institutions acquired by PHINMA Education include Araullo University in Cabanatuan City in 2004, Cagayan de Oro College in Misamis Oriental in 2005 and University of Pangasinan in Dagupan City in February 2009.

Salazar describes the academic successes of these schools as “more amazing” when they consider where their students began.

Proving to its success are the 28 placers and big improvements in terms of their passing rates when they achieved 100 percent in various board examinations.

“From a humble 6,000 in 2004, we’ve multiplied more than six times over to a strong 37,000,” said Salazar underscoring that the number is equivalent to 48 percent growth since 2009 and 17 percent annual growth over the past two years.

PHINMA Education carries the tagline “Life can be better” and bears the mission in building the nation “through competitive and well-managed business enterprises that enable Filipinos to attain a better quality of life.”/PN