PSE Circular for Brokers No. 240-00

February 2, 2000 PSE CIRCULAR FOR BROKERS NO. 240-00 CADP 1999 INCOME RISES TO P294 M Publicly listed sugar refiner Central Azucarera Don Pedro reported a 187% rise in its consolidated net income from P102.6 million last crop year to P294.1 million or P0.39 per share for crop year 1998-1999. The significant earnings growth was driven primarily by strong sales performance of P3.3 billion versus P2.7 billion the previous crop year, an improvement of 21.7%. Income from operations increased 56.2% from P387 million to P605 million during the period in review. LibLex "We benefited from the superior operating fundamentals of our refinery which had been brought about by our continuing thrust to improve our competitiveness," CADP chairman Pedro E. Roxas said during the company's annual stockholders' meeting held recently. The amount of cane milled improved comprising 44% of the total cane milled in Central and Southern Luzon. However, production yields dropped resulting in a decrease in raw sugar production which dropped from 2.7 million bags in CY 1997-98 to 2.4 million bags in 1998-99. CADP's Batangas refinery produced a total of 5.7 million bags of refined sugar, up 77.6% from last crop years' 3.2 million bags. The increase was due to a steady supply of raws, a considerable part of which was government-approved imported raw sugar. "The strategic location of our refinery which is near Metro Manila and CALABARZON, as well as its excellent production efficiencies contributed to the much improved performance of this major revenue driver," Roxas explained. Subsidiary Central Azucarera de La Carlota also reported improved performance, registering a modest net income of P9 million from net losses of P118 million for crop year 1997-98. CAC produced 2.1 million bags of raw sugar, a considerable improvement over its 1998-97 production and 1.9 million bags of raw sugar. cdlex