MESSAGE TO
OUR SHAREHOLDERS
“LBC WAS QUICK TO SHIFT AND ADAPT TO THE CHALLENGES CAUSED BY THE PANDEMIC AND WE WORKED HARD TO REMAIN OPEN TO MAKE SURE OUR SERVICES WERE OPERATIONAL.”
To Our Stockholders,
In 2019, we were in the middle of an ambitious effort to transform LBC. It was a pragmatic but optimistic approach for our company’s growth – one anchored on our digital expansion and evolution as a way to keep up with the rapidly evolving needs of our customers. It was also one of the most complex undertakings a 70-year old company with over 10,000 employees around the world could take on.
“LBC CAME TOGETHER AS ONE COMPANY EVEN AS CURRENT EVENTS TESTED US AN ORGANIZATION, AS EMPLOYERS, AS A SERVICE PROVIDER, AND AS HUMAN BEINGS. IT ALSO ALLOWED US TO RECOGNIZE THAT LBC WAS IN A UNIQUE POSITION TO MOVE FILIPINO LIVES, AND PREPARE US ALL FOR TOMORROW, NO MATTER HOW UNCERTAIN IT MAY BE.”
We entered 2020 with a positive outlook for our growth, bolstered by a strong momentum from our performance the previous year, and backed by a solid plan for digital transformation. All that was to change within the first few months of 2020, when the onset of an unprecedented global pandemic marked a turning point in our company’s sentiment and outlook.
It was a year that will go down in history as arguably one of the most challenging and trying. But the pandemic demonstrated how LBC could come together as one company even as current events tested us as an organization, as employers, as a service provider, and as human beings. It also allowed us to recognize this one clear fact: amid all these challenges, LBC was in a unique position to move Filipino lives and prepare us all for tomorrow, no matter how uncertain it may be.
This fact became the primary driver for this year’s financial milestones. Our relentless commitment to serve Filipinos despite the pandemic guaranteed that Filipinos could continue to rely on our company. We kept up with demand, evolved with customer needs, adapted and adjusted our offerings, all the while ensuring the safety of our team and our customers.
2020’s numbers speak for itself. LBC registered revenues at P14.12 billion by the end of the year — a 7% decrease from 2019 earnings. This dip however, was expected. There was a marked decrease in demand as unprecedented lockdowns across the globe were implemented and enforced. Still, LBC was quick to shift and adapt to the challenges caused by the pandemic and we worked hard to remain open to make sure our services were operational. As a result, by the third and fourth quarter of 2020, with consumers and businesses adapting to stay-at-home orders, I’m proud to report that we were able to recoup our revenues.
A big part of our company’s ability to bounce back can be credited to our foresight and adaptability as a company. During this time, LBC empowered Filipinos with services that helped them weather the challenges of the pandemic as well. In support of small to medium enterprises opening, we implemented Cash On Delivery (COD) services as well as Cash On Pick Up (COP). Complementary to this, LBC’s brick and mortar stores were utilized as Pick Up and Drop Off points where physical payments and cargo shipments could be conducted.
We also made it a point to strengthen our online presence and service by putting the spotlight on our online booking and pick up service as well as online booking and branch drop off service — a move that helped improve overall customer experience amid COVID restrictions. Online remittance services are also now available to Philippine customers via Online Instant Peso Padala and will soon be available for overseas customers.
The same level of innovation was also seen in other parts of the world where LBC is present. In North America, we saw 43% revenue growth in Canada and 28% growth in the US owing to our kababayan’s entrepreneurial efforts during this pandemic. Across Asia-Pacific and Australia, our branches remained operational and ready to serve amid early lockdown; and in the Middle East, consistent service enhancements such as Express Pickup and cashless transactions helped bolster brand performance.
Simultaneous to all this was our commitment to ensure the safety and health of our team members and customers. To that end, we reinforced safety and hygiene protocols across our offices and every LBC facility. We made it a point to protect high risk employees as well as frontline workers and implement remote working policies whenever possible. As a result, we were able to successfully operate our key assets with minor interruptions and help keep essential supply chains moving.
“We were able to successfully operate our key assets with minor interruptions and help keep essential supply chains moving.”
With a vision anchored firmly on empowering and transforming communities, we also worked hard to add health and wellness to LBC Foundation’s effort to support education in the country. Our efforts covered capacity building through educational programs on top of harnessing LBC’s core business and human capital to maximize reach and positive impact across thousands of beneficiaries.
Backed by the history and resilience of our 70-year heritage, we set in motion a plan that allowed us to remain operational throughout the pandemic and establish ourselves as an essential business that could tangibly make Filipino lives better.
As we successfully weathered the pandemic, LBC began to settle into a rhythm that deftly juggled crisis management and forward-thinking leadership that equipped us in our ability to handle daily operations amid this new normal. It proved that in the toughest of times, amid newly imposed restrictions and changing rules, LBC can evolve and continue to be agile. We can be responsive to a dynamic market whose needs are being dictated by something almost entirely out of everyone’s hands. Not once did it ever occur to us to back down.
We pushed ourselves, our teams, our systems to operate at its best and we did it all to better serve our customers, help answer their needs and keep LBC firmly on track.
When 2020 started, it brought to the fore questions that forced us to confront who LBC was and what LBC stood for. Amid face masks and shields, we reaffirmed that the same foundational set of beliefs that this company was built on when it first started is still the cornerstone that allows our company to thrive:
LBC is each of the 11,000+ lives that make up the company and the millions of others that we serve.
LBC is each box and each parcel we make sure arrives safely in the hands of our customers.
LBC is the reason we are able to serve Filipinos.
“We pushed ourselves, our teams, our systems to operate at its best and we did it all to better serve our customers, help answer their needs and keep LBC firmly on track.”
Thank you, and stay safe.
MIGUEL ANGEL A. CAMAHORT
Chairman of the Board
President and Chief Executive Officer