Lopez Holdings net income jumps 33% to P3.15 B in Jan-Sept

MANILA, Philippines - Lopez Holdings Inc.’s net income rose 33 percent to P3.15 billion in the first nine months of the year, boosted largely by the strong performance of its power business.

Unaudited consolidated revenues went up 10 percent to P75.6 billion in the first nine months of the year from P68.85 billion a year ago.

First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH), 46 percent owned by Lopez Holdings, reported a 36 percent jump in net earnings to P4.73 billion on the back of higher revenues. Sale of electricity accounted for 85 percent of revenues.

“FPH has a solid portfolio of clean, indigenous and/or renewable energy generating assets that will be in great demand as the country continues on its growth trajectory,” Lopez Holdings said.

On the other hand, media concern ABS-CBN Corp. suffered a 14 percent drop in net income for the nine-month period to P1.54 billion in the absence of election-related advertising spending that boosted net earnings a year ago.

However, after stripping out the effects of election-related ad spending in the previous year, ABS-CBN’s recurring net income increased by 29 percent.

Given steady gains in its power units and ABS-CBN’s efforts to grow its television and studio business, Lopez Holdings expects recurring income to improve further going forward, its president and chief operating officer Salvador G. Tirona said.

As a holding company, Lopez Holdings receives revenues from asset sales and dividends from investees.

The conglomerate paid a total of P463 million in cash dividends last June and received P543 million in cash dividends from FPH (P254 million) and ABS-CBN (P289 million) during the nine-month period.