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SCG reports solid 2024 results, poised for ASEAN growth
2:36 p.m. February 13, 2025
SCG maintains a strong 2024 EBITDA and positions itself for regional growth in 2025.
SCG, a leading conglomerate in Southeast Asia, demonstrated resilience in 2024, effectively managing its EBITDA at 87,917 million PHP (US$1,528 million), matching its 2023 performance.
As Thammasak Sethaudom, President and CEO of SCG, highlighted, this achievement came amid a complex economic landscape marked by a slowdown in the petrochemical cycle, geopolitical tensions, volatile energy costs, and high interest rates. Despite these headwinds, SCG maintained financial stability and delivered consistent shareholder returns.
Thammasak Sethaudom, President and CEO of SCG
A key factor in SCG’s success was its proactive implementation of reinforcement measures initiated in late 2024. These measures focused on three core areas: working capital management, operational restructuring, and controlled capital expenditure. These efforts yielded significant results, including a reduction in working capital of approximately 10,613 million PHP (US$183 million) year-on-year, streamlining operations through discontinuing unprofitable ventures, and focusing on high-return, rapid-payback projects. Consequently, net debt decreased by 28,718 million PHP (US$494 million) from the previous quarter, resulting in a healthy net debt-to-equity ratio of 0.7 times. SCG ended the year with robust cash reserves of 91,289 million PHP (US$1,570 million).
Looking ahead, SCG is well-positioned to capitalize on the projected economic recovery in ASEAN. The region, particularly Indonesia and Vietnam, is expected to experience GDP growth exceeding the global average, fueled by strong domestic demand, government stimulus, and increasing foreign investment. This positive outlook bodes well for SCG’s construction materials businesses. SCG Distribution & Retail, for instance, is accelerating the expansion of its Mitra 10 modern trade format in Indonesia. It aims to reach 100 branches by 2030, having already achieved 56 branches serving over one million customers monthly in 2024. SCGP (SCG Packaging) is also poised to benefit from rising ASEAN consumption and the increasing demand for packaging paper.
While SCG’s overall performance remained strong, its chemicals business (SCGC) faced challenges in 2024. The regional petrochemical industry experienced intensified competition due to new production capacity and weakened demand stemming from China’s economic slowdown. SCGC responded by prioritizing the development of High-Value Added Products & Services (HVA) and diligently managing EBITDA, costs, and working capital to maintain competitiveness. With signs of stabilization in the petrochemical cycle and anticipated declines in oil prices in 2025, SCGC is focused on further enhancing EBITDA and cost management efficiency. Notably, SCGC has accelerated its Long Son Petrochemicals (LSP) project in Vietnam by increasing the use of ethane gas feedstock, securing a long-term supply agreement, and chartering ethane shipping vessels to enhance long-term competitiveness.
SCG is also actively pursuing growth in new export markets, including North America and Australia. SCG Cement & Green Solutions is ramping up exports of Low Carbon Cement, targeting approximately one million tons this year. SCG Decor is experiencing success with its high-strength X-PORCELAIN tiles exports and aims to double export growth in 2024. SCGP is similarly expanding exports of polymer packaging, food service packaging, and printing and writing paper.
Furthermore, SCG is investing in smart living solutions and clean energy. SCG Smart Living is broadening its portfolio to include air quality products and solar solutions under the ONNEX brand while introducing more affordable product lines. SCG Cleanergy is expanding its solar power generation and distribution capacity, aiming for 3,500 MW by 2030.
In 2024, SCG reported Revenue from Sales of 833,070 million PHP (US$14,483 million), a 2% increase year-on-year, driven by higher sales volumes from SCGC and SCGP. However, profit for the year declined by 76% to 10,336 million PHP (US$180 million) due to the performance of the LSP project and lower contributions from associate companies. Excluding extraordinary items from 2023, profit declined by 52%. Fourth-quarter 2024 Revenue from Sales increased by 2% from the previous quarter, but the company reported a loss of 834 million PHP (US$15 million) due primarily to LSP performance and entire depreciation expenses.
SCG’s ASEAN operations (excluding Thailand) generated Revenue from Sales of 223,378 million PHP (US$3,883 million) in 2024, a 12% increase year over year and contributing 27% to SCG’s total revenue. In the Philippines, Revenue from Sales reached 19,356 million PHP (US$337 million), a significant 45% increase driven by SCGP.
Meanwhile, SCG Philippines is committed to sustainable development. This quarter, the company introduced the lightweight Q-con block, an eco-friendly building material from Thailand, to the Philippine market, a collaboration with key contractors like EEI that underscores its focus on Inclusive Green Growth. SCG showcased a diverse range of sustainable building solutions at NATCON-CONEX 2024, including Smart Block, Smart Putty, and Façade, reflecting its dedication to providing high-quality, environmentally friendly products.
Meanwhile, SCG Philippines expanded its retail presence with the opening of four new CTM stores, offering affordable ceramic tiles and sanitary ware. Furthermore, the SCG Open House 2024 provided a platform for industry professionals to explore its latest innovations and foster collaboration within the construction and home improvement sectors.
The company also partnered with Urban Farmers PH on urban farming initiatives, demonstrating its commitment to ESG principles and Inclusive Green Growth.
“SCG continues to adapt and expand into new markets. We are confident that in 2025, we will sustain strong EBITDA management while ensuring continuous commitment to shareholder care,” Thammasak concluded.
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Isambard-AI, the UK’s most powerful AI supercomputer, goes live
6:39 p.m. July 18, 2025
(NVIDIA PR) The U.K. has officially joined the premier league of global AI infrastructure — and it’s not starting small.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing (BriCS), leaders today unveiled Isambard-AI, the most powerful AI supercomputer ever built in the U.K.
U.K. Secretary of State Peter Kyle was joined by leaders from across academia, industry and government, including Simon McIntosh-Smith, director of the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing, and Neil MacDonald, executive vice president and general manager for Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s server business.
“And as we press this switch to activate the UK’s most powerful supercomputer, we are embarking on Britain’s super future where AI contributes towards the delivery of better public services, greater public prosperity, deeper scientific discovery and stronger national security,” Kyle said.
The numbers back up Kyle’s statement:
- 21 exaflops of AI performance
- 5,448 NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper Superchips
- Set to rank 11th worldwide on the latest TOP500 list of world’s fastest supercomputers
- More than 10x faster than the next-fastest supercomputer in the U.K. More computing power than all other U.K. supercomputers combined
- Ranked fourth globally for energy efficiency
Engineering teams working collaboratively to maneuver and install components within the supercomputer’s data hall, illustrating the complex and coordinated effort behind the build.
Why It Matters
Isambard-AI gives U.K. researchers and businesses a once-in-a-generation leap in computing power. It’s a platform to accelerate breakthroughs in:
- AI-driven drug discovery
- Advanced climate modeling
- Materials science
- Large language models (LLMs) tuned to U.K. languages and laws
Backed by £225 million in government investment and built with NVIDIA, HPE, the University of Bristol and others, Isambard-AI signals a clear ambition: to lead in AI, the U.K. must lead in compute.
Simon McIntosh-Smith, director of the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing, with Simon Appleby, AI business lead at HPE.
A glimpse into the project’s strategic planning, showing a screen outlining the ambitious goal of installing multiple supercomputers, including Isambard-AI’s phases, within 12 months.
A Turning Point for UK Science
Named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel — the 19th-century engineer who reshaped Britain with railways, bridges and ships — Isambard-AI brings that same scale of ambition to AI research.
And like Brunel’s projects during his era, it moves fast. Having gone from conception to deployment in just under two years, including the construction of the modular data center in 48 hours, the supercomputer is already running live projects aligned with national priorities.
Early flagship projects include:
- Nightingale AI: A sovereign, multimodal health foundation model trained on National Health Service (NHS) data to support earlier diagnoses and personalized care.
- BritLLM: A U.K.-developed LLM project supporting British languages like Welsh, alongside English, to promote inclusivity and better public service delivery in healthcare, education and public services.
- UCL Cancer Screening AI: Developing the first scalable AI system for prostate cancer detection via MRI, aiming for faster diagnoses and tailored treatments.
- EIMCRYSTAL (University of Liverpool): Using AI to search 68 million chemical combinations to discover greener, more sustainable industrial materials — reducing reliance on rare or toxic inputs.
- EgoAI (University of Bristol): Using AI to analyze recordings from wearable cameras and other smart devices to help people perform tasks better at home. This holds immense promise for assisting dementia patients in the future.
A technician carefully installs a server blade equipped with direct liquid cooling, demonstrating the hands-on precision involved in assembling Isambard-AI’s advanced computing infrastructure.
Built Fast, Built Smart
How do you build a supercomputer in half the usual time?
“We treated the project like a high-performance processor,” said Simon McIntosh-Smith, director at BriCS. “We executed everything in parallel.”
Key to this speed:
- Parallelized project management
- Early procurement of critical hardware, particularly GPUs
- Prefabricated modular data halls shipped in and assembled in days
- Relentless optimization of delivery timelines
- Ground broke in June 2024. By June 2025, the full 5-megawatt system was live: built, tested and running at a global scale.
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Smart launches revamped Online Store, rolls out Postpaid Plan 799
9:43 p.m. July 7, 2025
Mobile services provider Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) is making it simpler and faster for more Filipinos to elevate their digital lifestyle with the launch of its revamped Smart Online Store (https://store.smart.com.ph/), a portal where new and existing customers can conveniently explore and securely avail of the latest prepaid and postpaid offers with just a few taps on their smartphone or computer.
As a special introductory offer, the revamped Smart Online Store is the launch platform for Smart Postpaid Plan 799, a SIM-Only Plan that comes with 15 GB open-access data for all sites and apps, 100 GB of 5G data for six months for use in Smart 5G-covered areas, Unlimited Calls and Texts with Landline Calls, and a complimentary Netflix Mobile subscription.
As an added perk for subscribers who will subscribe to the new Smart Postpaid Plan 799, applications made through the Smart Online Store will receive 50% more open access data (7.5 GB) for the first six months.
Easily sign up for a Smart Postpaid Plan 799
New and existing subscribers can conveniently sign up for Smart Postpaid Plan 799 by simply going to https://store.smart.com.ph/ (https://store.smart.com.ph/), selecting “SIM-Only Plans,” and then choosing “Plan 799.”
Customers must then fill out the required personal information to complete their online application.
Initially available only on the Smart Online Store, Smart Postpaid Plan 799 will also be offered to all Smart Stores nationwide soon.
Value-packed offers at your fingertips
Aside from enabling subscribers to avail of Smart Postpaid Plan 799 with just a few clicks, the Smart Online Store also allows customers to bundle a device with their SIM-Only Plan.
Moreover, Smart Online Store’s intuitively designed portal makes it so much easier for customers to discover other value-packed products and services that suit their lifestyle – from data, call, and text offers, SIMs and eSIMs, to the latest smartphones.
The portal also allows users to reload for credits, avail of limited promos, purchase phones bundled with Smart and TNT SIM cards, buy devices under Smart Bro 5G promos, and order Smart and TNT SIM packages.
Lastly, customers can enjoy a wide range of payment options with priority handling for select credit cards.
The revamped Smart Online Store is just one of the many ways that make Smart simply reliable for Filipino mobile users looking to level up their digital lifestyle and enjoy the many benefits of technology.
Visit the Smart Online Store and sign up for a Smart Postpaid Plan 799 now at https://store.smart.com.ph/.#
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Mega Sardines: 50 years of serving nutrient-rich meals, primed to go global
10:22 a.m. June 20, 2025
As it celebrates its 50th anniversary, Mega Prime Foods Inc. reflects on a remarkable journey—one that began with a simple mission to provide affordable, nutritious food to Filipino families.
What started as a humble fishing company has now become one of the most innovative and socially driven food manufacturers in Southeast Asia, producing over 3 million cans of sardines daily from its advanced facilities in Batangas and Zamboanga.
Sardines, long a staple in Filipino households, are among the most nutritionally dense foods in the world—rich in Omega-3 fatty acids for brain and heart health, vitamin B12 for metabolic support, and a host of other essential nutrients like calcium, iron, and selenium. Mega Sardines ensures these health benefits are preserved through its industry-leading “catch to can in 12 hours” process—setting it apart in freshness, quality, and care.
For Chairman and Founder William Tiu Lim, the journey has not been easy. From natural disasters like the devastating 1970s typhoon that destroyed much of their fishing fleet, to political and economic crises, Mega has endured and grown stronger. Through it all, Tiu Lim held fast to three core values: Quality, Innovation, and Malasakit—a uniquely Filipino term meaning selfless concern for others.
“We’ve always aimed for the best possible quality,” said Tiu Lim. “Our fish go from sea to can in just 12 hours, compared to the industry’s usual 1–3 days. That freshness is our edge.”
This commitment to innovation and excellence recently culminated in a global milestone: Mega Sardines was designated a “Superfood” by the Medical Wellness Association (MWA), becoming the first seafood product ever to receive the distinction. The recognition was awarded during Mega’s 50th anniversary celebration by MWA Board Member and faculty member James Michael Lafferty, underscoring the brand’s role in promoting global wellness.
“I was honored to announce Mega Sardines as the world’s first seafood Superfood,” said Lafferty. “It’s a testament to their quality, innovation, and mission to improve health outcomes.”
As the company transitions into its second generation of leadership under President and CEO Michelle Tiu Lim-Chan, the vision for global expansion is clear—but rooted in the same human values that built the brand.
“We are people-first,” said Lim-Chan. “We serve our customers, support our employees, and provide opportunities to improve lives. Growth is not just about geography—it’s about purpose.”
Mega Prime Foods is already expanding its product lines, offering not only sardines but also tuna, mackerel, fruit cocktails, coconut gel, Primo non-alcoholic sparkling juices, and the Jimm’s Coffee functional beverage line.
“Our proudest achievement is our ability to turn compassion into tangible, quality products,” Lim-Chan added. “We are not done yet. The next 50 years will be even more exciting.”
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