follow up

AMDG

As if to confirm my previous blog entry, news came out that OFW remittances rose 15% for the period of January to February of 2008 versus the same period last year to $2.5B. At the average current exchange rate, that’s more or less a whopping ONE HUNDRED BILLION PESOS. Imagine that, P100B feeding into the Filipino consumer machine.

Of course, last year $2.5B would have been around P125B – no small loss brought about by the depreciation of the dollar. Moreover, after knocking off inflation numbers from the rate of increase in the remittances, we could see that this 15% growth isn’t quite as impressive as it should be. But despite all odds and notwithstanding domestic inflation and unfavorable exchange rates, the Overseas Filipino Worker still managed to send home more money than he did last year – money that will fuel not just the country’s economy but the country itself past obstacles put in place by the very people mandated to do the exact opposite. Truly, the OFW is the modern Filipino hero.

In related news, I (I-remit) posted a net income of P113.29M for 2007, a 167% increase from P42.48M in 2006. This is very impressive, and is evidence of the strong growth potential that I believe I has. At current prices though, I still find I a bit too expensive. At P3.45 per share, I is trading beyond three times its book value and over seventeen times its earnings (as per 3q07 figures, at least). As impressive as I’s strong growth prospects are, I think this is more than a reasonable premium amount to pay for I.