Major units boost Ayala Corp profit

MANILA, Philippines - Ayala Corp., one of the country’s biggest conglomerates, reported a 17-percent growth in net income in the first nine months of the year to P6.8 billion due to the strong performance of its property, banking and water units.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Ayala said nearly all its businesses posted double-digit growth in earnings, which resulted in a 26-percent gain in equity earnings to P8.6 billion.

“We are encouraged by the strong growth trajectory of our core businesses. The favorable economic environment, robust domestic consumption, and low interest rate environment set the condition for rapid growth and expansion. The initiatives we have taken the past few years have clearly positioned our businesses to benefit from this renewed growth cycle,” Fernando Zobel De Ayala, president and chief operating officer said. 

Net earnings of its property arm, Ayala Land, reached a record P3.9 billion in the nine months ending September this year on strong revenue growth across all business lines.

Banking unit Bank of the Philippine Islands chalked in a net income of P9.1 billion, up 24 percent from the previous level, due to a wider customer base.

Utility firm Manila Water Co. likewise saw its net earnings rise 31 percent to P2.9 billion on the back of a 19-percent hike in revenues. It is pursuing development of other water supply sources to augment and diversify its water source.

The robust performances of these units offset the 24-percent drop in Globe Telecom’s profit in the period under review. Globe posted a net profit of P7.45 billion as against the P9.85 billion recorded a year earlier.

Earnings of electronics unit Integrated Microelectronics Inc., meanwhile, climbed 36 percent to $5 million as consolidated revenues went up four percent on the sustained strong performance of its China operations.

Ayala’s automotive dealerships earned P245 million or an increase of 47 percent from the year-ago level as revenues improved 10 percent to P9 billion. Ayala is the leading dealer of the Honda and Isuzu network in the Philippines with a 51 percent share of Honda network sales and 30 percent of Isuzu sales nationwide.