Aboitiz firm earns 34% more in H1

MANILA, Philippines - Conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV) said its first half earnings grew by a third on the back of a robust power business.

In a statement, AEV said consolidated net income jumped 34 percent to P10.5 billion, boosted by a non-recurring gain of P100 million from the acquisition of East Asia Utilities Corp. (EAUC).

Adjusting for these one-offs, AEV’s core net income amounted to P10.4 billion, 31 percent higher year-on-year.

Power accounted for 67.1 percent of AEV’s net income, followed by banking and financial services at 16.8 percent.

Food, infrastructure and real estate units, meanwhile, contributed 7.8 percent, 7.6 percent, and 0.7 percent, respectively, to the group’s total earnings.

Aboitiz Power Corp. ended the first half with an income contribution of P7.7 billion, up 24 percent from the previous year.  Total net earnings went up 24 percent to P10 billion, driven by new generating capacities from new and existing plants.

The power generation business accounted for 82 percent of AboitizPower (AP) total earnings.

AP acquired last month the remaining 50 percent interest in EAUC, increasing the company’s attributable net sellable capacity to 2,576 megawatts.

As of the end of the first semester, AP’s attributable capacity sales rose 13 percent to 2,020 megawatts.

Union Bank of the Philippines and its subsidiaries, meanwhile, posted an income contribution of P1.9 billion, up 121 percent year on year due to higher core recurring income. 

AEV’s non-listed food subsidiaries contributed P885 million to groupwide earnings, relatively flat during the first half.

Real estate subsidiary Aboitiz Land Inc., meanwhile, saw a 60 percent drop in income contribution to P85 million due to the decrease in revenues of the industrial business unit as prospective locators held off commitments in light of the recent national elections,” AEV said. – With Danessa Rivera