JG Summit swings to profit
JG Summit Holdings Inc. bounced to profit in the first half of the year at P10.4 billion, compared to a P2.7-billion loss the prior year. Revenues grew 12 percent to P163.4 billion from P145.89 billion.
“The group’s earnings improvement further accelerated in the second quarter with the sustained demand recovery and growth across our food, airline and property businesses.
On top of this, initiatives across our business units to tackle cost inflation and implement efficiencies to recover our margins continue to bear fruit. We are now working double time to augment our capacity and improve operational resiliency by adding more planes for Cebu Pacific, addressing the supply chain issues in URC (Universal Robina Corp.) to increase order fill rates, and improving RLC’s (Robinsons Land Corp.) occupancy rates and carefully launching new project developments,” said Lance Gokongwei, JG Summit chief executive officer.
“Meanwhile, we have begun ramping up our petrochemicals operations after months of being shut down. I am confident that we would be able to sustain this positive momentum for the balance of the year as we proactively carry-out initiatives to stay ahead of the curve,” Gokongwei added.
URC posted profit of P6.7 billion for the period, over revenues of P78.6 billion, an 11 percent increase.
RLC meanwhile posted better margins across its divisions, helping profit to hit P5.8 billion, up 23 percent. Revenues however dropped 31 percent to P19.63 billion from P27.5 billion.
Cebu Air Inc., operator of Cebu Pacific, posted profit of P3.7 billion over revenues of P43.6 billion.
The petrochemical business under JG Summit Olefin Corp. (JGSOC) posted loses of P6 billion, lower than the P6.5 billion last year. Revenues dropped 31 percent to P14.2 billion from P20.57 billion last year. JGSOC shut down its plant in February.
LT Group H1 drops 16%
LT Group Inc. said profit for the first half of the year dropped 16 percent to P13 billion from P15.40 billion last year.
The tobacco business accounted for 45 percent. Philippine National Bank (PNB) contributed 42 percent, while Tanduay Distillers Inc. added 5 percent. Asia Brewery Inc. provided 3 percent. Eton Properties Corp. and Victorias Milling Co. each contributed 2 percent while other income accounted for 1 percent.
The tobacco business posted profit of P5.85 billion, down 25 percent from last year’s P7.77 billion.
LT Group noted the industry’s volume was 20 percent lower for the period at 21.3 billion sticks, largely due to the industry-wide price increase in the first quarter, resulting to trade inventory movements.
The lending business under PNB meanwhile posted profit of P9.76 billion, down 12 percent from P11.15 billion.
The bank booked provisions for credit losses of P1.57 billion compared to a net reversal of P3.16 billion last year.
Tanduay posted profit of P626 million, up 11 percent from P564 million last year. The business however recorded lower volume in its liquor and bioethanol businesses, at 14 percent and 35 percent, respectively.
Asia Brewery posted profit of P340 million, up 16 percent from P294 million. Revenues were up 3 percent to P8.41 billion from P8.14 billion on the back of higher volumes for Cobra energy drink and bottled water.
The realty business in Eton posted profit of P206 million, down 20 percent from 2022. Leasing revenues were up 8 percent higher at P960 million from P886 million. Eton currently has a leasing portfolio of around 287,600 square meters, of which close to 192,000 is for office space.
MacroAsia net jump 667%
MacroAsia Corp. said profit for the first half of the year grew 667 percent to P382.2 million from P49.8 million last year.
Revenues grew 103.84 percent to P3.71 billion from P1.82 billion.
“For the first half in 2023, revenues from inflight and other catering posted a substantial 143 percent increase, from P775.52 million to P1.88 billion. The improvement is driven by the 98 percent volume growth in meal sales, from 5.62 million to 11.11 million,” MacroAsia said.
“Ground-handling and aviation services had revenues at P1.48 billion compared to P776.57 million in 2022. This is an increase of 91 percent, attributable mainly to flight volume growth in the airports and new client acquisitions. Flights handled increased by a total of 32,013 flights (57 percent), from 56,455 to 88,468,” it added.
MacroAsia said its aviation training school recorded revenues of P38.48 million, 99 percent higher than the P19.31 million recorded last year.
The water business posted a 25 percent increase in revenues to P286.42 million from P229.70 million.
“Commercial water sales in Boracay Island grew, and new accounts continued to boost billed volumes in other areas such as Cavite and Nueva Vizcaya,” it said.
Share in profit of associates meanwhile hit P135.90 million, down 17.72 percent from P165.18 million last year.“This represents MacroAsia’s share in the net operating result of its associated companies – Lufthansa Technik Philippines, Japan Airport Services Co., and Cebu Pacific Catering Services,” it said.
PAL income hits P13.6B
Philippine Airlines (PAL) said its net income grew more than double to P13.6 billion in the first half of this year as compared to the same period last year.
PAL said its net income grew to $250 Million (P13.6 billion) from $70 million (P4.1 billion) in the first half of last year and operating income of $314 Million (P17.4 billion) for the first half of 2023.
“We are pleased to see that Philippine Airlines is beginning to realize the benefits of the sacrifices we took over the past few years. PAL is on a recovery track and is now in a position to carry out major product and digital transformation initiatives in order to grow amid a more competitive and challenging aviation industry,” said Lucio Tan III, PAL Holding Inc. president and chief operating officer.
In the first half of 2023, PAL restored flights on several routes to mainland China and launched nonstop services to Perth along with flights from Clark to Caticlan and Boracay.
In addition to an extensive network of 32 domestic destinations served from hubs in Manila, Cebu, Clark, and Davao, the Philippine flag carrier operates the largest network of nonstop flights between the Philippines and North America, Japan, the Middle East, and Australia.
The fleet investments include the purchase of nine Airbus A350-1000 long-range jetliners, valued at more than $3.2 billion based on the list price of $366.5 million per aircraft.
PAL is increasing customer care and contact center agents, and rolling out a new customer relations management system within 2023 to provide more personalized self-service options for customers.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to invest in new aircraft, improved cabins, and enhanced travel experience for our valued customers,” said PAL president and chief operating officer Capt. Stanley Ng. “The latest positive financial results enable us to build a better, stronger, and more agile Philippine Airlines that creates greater value for our customers, and we are grateful for their continuing support and patronage.”
PAL’s second quarter 2023 revenues grew by 27 percent to $820 million largely due to higher passenger numbers. Operating income for the second quarter increased by 95 percent to $179 million vs. $92 million in the second quarter of 2022.
PAL finished the second quarter with a net income of $141 million, almost tripling the
$47.9 million in income was registered in the second quarter of last year.
8990 Holdings revenues flat
8990 Holdings Inc. grew its profit by 2.5 percent to P3.79 billion in the first half of the year from P3.69 billion in the same period last last year.
Revenues hit P10.06 billion relatively flat from P10.05 billion last year.
“The first half of 2023 has been a period of growth, achievement, and valuable learning experiences. Together, we have surpassed financial milestones, demonstrated adaptability, and strengthened our position as a leading player in the industry,” said Anthony Vincent Sotto , 8990 chief executive officer.
“As we embark on the next phase of our journey, I am confident that we will overcome any obstacles that come our way and continue to achieve greater heights,” he added.
8990 said it still has an unrealized sales of P4.6 billion as of end-June, with P2.6 billion to be recognized within the year.
“This still keeps us on track in meeting our year end revenue target of P24 billion,” he said.
Sotto said 8990 is evaluating its cost structures and supply chain management to optimize gross margins moving forward.
Emperadors sales increase 11%
Emperador Inc. said said profit in the first half of the year hit P4.7 billion, relatively flat but slightly down from P4.8 billion last year.
Revenues grew 11 percent to P31 billion from P27.92 billion.
“The global whisky segment of Emperador continued to show a stellar performance while the brandy segment managed to show some growth despite facing inflationary headwinds,” the company said.
Emperador said its whisky segment continued to grow at double-digit rates for the period with markets in Asia and USA, posting “strong double-digit growth.” No figures were provided.
“Meanwhile, expansion of the whisky maturation complex at Invergordon Distillery in Scotland is underway, doubling its footprint from 45.4 hectares to 92 hectares. This will create the space for additional warehouses to be built over the coming decades, eventually housing more maturing whiskies, in support of the long-term growth ambition for Emperador’s global whisky business,” the company said.
“Our international business is constantly showing stellar performance driven by the single malt whisky portfolio, which continues to be amongst the fastest growing single malts in the world. And while the brandy segment is facing some headwinds, reinvigorating efforts are in place to ensure long-term growth. After posting banner performances for three consecutive years in 2020, 2021 and 2022, our company believes that 2023 will continue to be a better year,” said Winston Co, Emperador president.
