Lopez Holdings posts 76% profit hike

MANILA, Philippines - Lopez Holdings Corp. reported a 76-percent jump in its nine-month net income to P6.185 billion due to affiliate First Philippine Holdings Corp.’s one-time gain from the sale of additional stake in Manila Electric Co. and from the receipt of Rockwell Land shares.

In a financial report submitted to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Lopez Holdings said earnings of associates grew 16-fold to P5.307 billion from only P305 million following FPHC’s sale of a 2.66-percent stake in Meralco in January this year amounting to PP3.34 billion.

FPH also booked an additional gain relating to its previous sale of Meralco shares, with the assignment to the FPHC group of Rockwell Land shares received as property dividends by buyer Beacon Electric.

Lopez Holdings said unaudited consolidated revenues went up 13 percent to P24.02 billion as associate ABS-CBN Corp. logged in stable numbers and implemented higher advertising rates beginning February.

Finance costs declined 13 percent to P547 million from P627 million due to lower debt levels of Lopez Holdings.   The company booked a foreign exchange gain of P178 million due to the appreciation of the peso against the dollar by end-September 2012.

ABS-CBN, meanwhile, reported a 31-percent drop in net profit during the period to P1.555 billion. Without the extraordinary gains from the sale of SkyCable PDRs last year, ABS-CBN’s net earnings would have increased by 10 percent.  Consolidated revenues climbed 13 percent to P24.02 billion as advertising revenues, which make up 60 percent of total revenues, rose eight percent  given ABS-CBN’s sustained ratings leadership and higher revenues from its Sports division and the cable channels.

Consolidated consumer sales, which accounted for 40 percent of revenues, went up 21 percent, largely attributable to SkyCable’s growth on the back of better postpaid and broadband revenues.

FPHC likewise reported a net income of P11.62 billion in the first nine months or 17 times the P637 million recorded the same period last year. It booked a P6.084 billion gain on sale from the sale of its Meralco stake.

FPHC also booked a P1.834-billion gain related to business combination, representing the re-measurement of its previously held equity interest in Rockwell Land.

Revenues of FPHC improved by 14 percent to P59.31 billion on higher contributions from First Gen Corp.