Lopez Holdings doubles Q1 income

MANILA, Philippines - Lopez Holdings Corp. chalked a net income of P2.63 billion in the first quarter this year, more than twice the P902 million in the previous year-period on hefty gains from the sale of additional shares in Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

In a financial report submitted to securities regulators, Lopez Holdings said equity in net earnings of associates grew more than nine-fold to P2.417 billion after subsidiary First Philippine Holdings Corp. sold a 2.66 percent stake, equivalent to 30 million shares, in Meralco last January.

Unaudited consolidated revenues reached P7.149 billion, up eight percent. The growth was attributed to associate ABS-CBN Corp.’s continued dominance in national primetime TV ratings as well as the implementation of higher advertising rates beginning February.

“Outside of election-related spending, we have not seen any significant expansion in Philippine ad spend for many years. As for FPHC, its recurring net income increased by 164 percent showing the strength of its power generation portfolio. It is clear that earlier investments made by both ABS-CBN and FPHC are now bearing fruit,” said Salvador G. Tirona, president and chief operating officer of Lopez Holdings.

As of end-December last year, Lopez Holdings held a 60.3 percent economic interest in ABS-CBN and 46.6 percent in FPHC.

Multi-media conglomerate ABS-CBN reported a 69 percent drop in its first quarter net income even as revenues rose eight percent to P7.149 billion.