New benchmarks in membership, as well as loan releases and other major business indicators, were achieved by the Ayala Coop during its 21st year of existence in 2016.
This was the gist of the report of Coop Chairman Randy Maranan before the annual general assembly that took place last April 24 at The Blue Room at the 25th Floor of Tower One in Makati.
Membership reached an unprecedented growth, according to Maranan, with the total number of Coop members reaching 30,078 as of the end of 2016, which was more than eight percent higher than the previous year’s 27,736. The total actually grew by 4,959 new recruits, but that number eventually settled at a net increase of 2,342 as a result of membership terminations resulting from resignations and/or company-initiated programs.
The net growth can be attributed to the entry of new companies into the Ayala Group, which has complemented the consistent recruitment effort being exerted by the Coop. Among the new subsidiaries are the University of Nueva Caceres, QualiMed Bulacan and Iloilo, North Luzon Renewable, Manila Water subsidiary Total Solutions Corporation, and Light Rail Manila Corporation.
Top award in membership
Maranan told the 133 attendees of the general assembly that the Coop’s membership growth enabled it to garner the top award in membership during the annual Koopbida Awards sponsored by the Makati Cooperative Development Office in October 2016. The Coop was also in the top three in both assets and community service.
A new record was also set in loan releases when a total of P1.485 billion was paid off to loan availees. The record in this area was achieved despite the original 2016 target being revised from P1.340 billion to an upgraded goal of P1.405 billion, with the final total surpassing both targets by 11 and six percent, respectively. Maranan, however, said that what was most impressive about the record total is that it overshot the previous year’s P1.175 billion by a hefty 26 percent, an increase that he described as “previously unheard of.”
The Coop Chairman said that a large part of the increase may be attributed to the growth in regular loan availments, which have been spurred significantly by the quarterly loan promotions that have been offered by the Coop to its members. For 2016, a total of P1.347 billion was released for regular loans, a large part of that going to the four quarterly promos dubbed “Unang Pasabog,” “Summer Saya,” “Tag-Ulan” and “Mega Loan.”
‘Significant gains’
Maranan reported that other major business indicators showed “similarly significant gains” as recorded by both membership and loan releases. Total assets grew by 19 percent from P1.91 billion in 2015 to P2.28 billion in 2016. Members’ total equity, meanwhile, rose from P1.631 billion to P1.959 billion, while revenues soared from P202.6 million in 2015 to P246.7 million in 2016. This, among other factors, enabled the Coop to declare a 7.16 percent dividend rate for its members and a patronage refund of 27.62 percent, which are relatively better than the previous year’s numbers.
Even as new benchmarks in business performance were established, Maranan said that the Coop’s “self-appointed role” as advocate of worthy causes also gained headway during the year. This came through the various corporate social responsibility programs that the Coop successfully undertook and benefitted thousands of schoolchildren.
CSR activities
Highlighting the Coop’s CSR activities for 2016 was its visit to 10 elementary schools in Palawan in November as part of the Coop’s participation in the “P100 for 200,000 Storybooks” project of Ayala Foundation and the Department of Education. Some 10,000 storybooks worth P1 million were distributed to 3,250 schoolchildren even as some 30 volunteers from the Coop, Ayala Land and AFI also conducted storytelling activities before them in their schools.
Maranan said that earlier in March, the Coop saw the graduation of 80 of its L.E.T.S. (Learning English Through Stories) Read Program in Concepcion, Iloilo. It also participated in the Brigada Eskwela Project at the Talipanan Mangyan Elementary School in Mindoro in May, bringing to the school donations worth P434,000, which included school kits, materials for repair, LCD projectors, DVDs, sound system and books. Project participants made up of Coop personnel and HR coordinators also did two days of volunteer work, including painting, cleaning, storytelling, and attending to minor medical needs.
APEC scholars
Maranan also reported that an additional 10 Affordable Private Education Center or APEC scholars sponsored by the Coop were chosen in June, raising the number of scholars under the program being undertaken in partnership with Ayala Education and AFI to 16. A total of P550,000 was released for their tuition and other fee requirements last year.
The Coop’s school-kit program also continued, the Chairman said, with some 5,167 school kits worth P2.8 million being distributed to 10 public schools nationwide at various points during the year. The donations, which have been given in partnership with companies under the Ayala Group, have brought the total number of school kits the Coop has given away to poor schoolchildren since the advocacy started in 2012 to 10,692, costing it almost P6 million.
Audit Committee Chairman Leovigildo Abot also announced during the assembly that SyCip, Gorres, Velayo and Company has been appointed as the Coop’s external auditor for 2017 after having agreed to an audit fee that is lower than the amount quoted by the incumbent auditor.
56 chapter meetings
The general assembly actually capped the annual series of chapter meetings – which this year numbered 56 nationwide – undertaken by the Ayala Coop. This year’s chapter meetings were attended by a total of 5,447 Coop members.
The gathering also saw Maranan, an executive with Bank of the Philippine Islands, being reelected to the Coop’s Board of Directors for another two-year term along with members Ruel Maranan of AFI and Atty. Eliezer Tanlapco of ALI. They join incumbent board members J.P. Orbeta of Ayala Corporation, Rhea Anjanette Reyes of ALI, Renato Jiao of Globe Telecom and Jimmy Sanchez of Integrated Microelectronics, Inc.
Also being reelected to another two-year term were Abot, who is from ALI, Cathy Ang of AC and Rosemarie Cruz of BPI to the Audit Committee, as well as Aurelio Alonzo of BPI, Niño Raneses of BPI-Family Bank and Vangie Bongon of the Automobile Group to the Election Committee.
Raffles were held for those who attended the general assembly, with 19 winning a cash prize of P2,000 each and 17 winning minor prizes along with 11 early bird attendees.