NEGROS NAVIGATION COMPANY (NENACO) said it anticipates a favorable response from the court on the company’s corporate rehabilitation plan.
The court’s verdict on the rehabilitation program is expected to come out in a week or two, disclosed NENACO deputy general manager Jose Manuel Mapa.
Despite earlier reports that the rehabilitation plan is non-viable, NENACO said there are more indications that the program is doable. However, the company noted, nothing is final until the court’s decision is out.
Once approved, the rehabilitation plan will give the company breathing space to accrue the funds needed to pay its debts and regain financial stability.
The plan, submitted to presiding Judge Artemio Tipon’s office last September 1, was designed to uplift the company’s current market share, on top of clearing out all its debts and existing obligations. “The principal goal of the business plan should go beyond debt settlement; rather it should be to transform petitioner into a uniquely competitive inter-island roll-on / roll-off leader in the domestic shipping industry,” said NENANCO rehabilitation receiver Monico Jacob in his report.
The plan consists of three phases. During the first phase covering 2004 pre-rehabilitation year up to 2006, the company is expected to “turn the tide”, enabling it to meet daily operational expenses and settle debts on time.
The second phase (2007-2010) will focus on route expansion. Jacob said NENACO must break the monotony on its usual service routes such as the Manila-Bacolod-Manila so as to establish steady clientele for its other routes.
Finally, the third phase of the rehabilitation program is eyed at accomplishing NENACO’s complete debt settlement and the “birth” of a “uniquely competitive leader in the shipping industry.” Jacob said from 2011 to 2015, the firm should have captured at least 50% of the total passenger market and 35% of the total freight market in the inter-island trade.
