Alliance Global income up 43% in first half

MANILA, Philippines - Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), the listed investment holding firm of tycoon Andrew Tan, said its net earnings jumped 43 percent in the first half this year, mainly driven by robust sales from its property business.

In its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, AGI said its net income reached P3.69 billion from P2.58 billion a year earlier. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization rose 21 percent to P6.3 billion from P5.2 billion.

Consolidated revenues went up 22 percent to P21.26 billion – 46 percent of which came from AGI’s real estate arm, Megaworld Corp. – owing to higher sales from residential projects such as McKinley Hill, Newport City and Manhattan Garden City, and an increase in revenue from its BPO office rentals.

AGI’s consumer business, through Emperador Distillers and Golden Arches Development Corp. (GADC), contributed 44 percent of total revenues.

Emperador Distillers produces leading brandy labels Emperador and Generoso. In the last few months, the company launched Emperador Light and The Bar flavored alcoholic beverages, both of which are enjoying brisk sales. GADC, on the other hand, is the master franchise holder of McDonald’s in the Philippines.

AGI’s fourth business leg, Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., contributed equity earnings of P595 million in the first half of the year. Travellers International is the developer and operator of Resorts World Manila (RWM), the country’s first 24/7 integrated tourism estate in Newport City located across Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Travellers International is a joint venture between AGI and Genting Hong Kong Ltd. (formerly named Star Cruises Ltd. of Hong Kong), the third largest cruise line operator in the world and is part of Malaysian conglomerate Genting Berhad.

Travellers International will likewise develop Resorts World Bayshore City, to be located within the 90-hectare Bagong Nayong Pilipino Entertainment City Manila.

“We are quite pleased that our results show strong revenue growth across all lines of business. Our results confirm that our strategy to focus on key industries and accelerate growth, particularly in the tourism industry, is working,”AGI president Kingson Sian said. 

To demonstrate its strong commitment and confidence in the potential of the Philippine tourism industry, AGI recently announced that it will be building a fourth hotel in Newport City, the 540-room Hamilton Hotel. Set for ground breaking this third quarter, Hamilton comes after the Marriott and Maxims hotels located within RWM in Newport City, both already operational, and the ongoing Remington Hotel, expected to be completed by the first half next year.

Hamilton Hotel, once completed in 2012, will bring the total number of hotel rooms in Newport City to about 1,900. Another two hotels are programmed to rise in the same location within the next five years, bringing the total room count to around 2,500. This will make Newport City the country’s single real estate project with the largest concentration of hotel rooms.

Apart from the hotels, RWM’s facilities include a shopping mall, a 1,500-seat performing arts theater, cinemas, restaurants, luxury shops, an exclusive lifestyle club, spas and gaming areas.“While our priority is to drive profitable growth for our shareholders, we remain mindful of the needs of our country, particularly in the tourism sector, and, therefore, align our focus with the government’s thrust to boost tourist arrivals in the country and expand the impact of the tourism industry on the rest of the economy,” Sian said.