SM Investments profit up 10%
SM Investments Corp. grew its profit in the first half of the year by 10 percent to P40.2 billion from P36.5 billion last year. Revenues rose by 5 percent to P301.4 billion from P286.7 billion.
In the second quarter, profit jumped by 13 percent to P21.8 billion, over revenues of P157.7 billion, up 6 percent.
“SM’s double-digit growth in the first half results reflects a positive environment for our businesses. Improved discretionary spending in the second quarter lifted retail sales, while our banks, property and portfolio investments continued to deliver. We remain cautiously optimistic for the balance of the year,” said Frederic DyBuncio, SM chief executive office (CEO).
DyBuncio said of the group’s total net earnings, banking accounted for the largest share at 50 percent. Property contributed 27 percent while retail accounted for 14 percent and portfolio investments, 9 percent. SM Investments closed the period with assets of P1.6 trillion, up 1 percent. Gearing ratio was at 33 percent net debt to 67 percent equity.
Megaworld nets P8.55B
Megaworld Corp.’s profit amounted to P8.55 billion in the first half of the year, marking an 11-percent increase from the same period last year.
Revenues grew 22 percent to P39.1 billion which, Megaworld said, highlights the “strong performance and resilience across the company’s diverse business segments.”
Real estate sales reached P24.82 billion, up 30 percent from last year, as the business posted strong bookings and high demand for residential properties in various township developments, particularly in Taguig City, Cavite, Bulacan, Palawan and Cebu.
“We continue to see robust demand for our residential properties outside of Metro Manila.
Before the year ends, we hope to launch more projects in the provinces as we remain on track to finish 2024 with 35 townships,” said Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso, Megaworld president.
ALI H1 hits P13.1B
Ayala Land Inc. reported a 15-percent growth in profit for the first half of the year at P13.1 billion, as revenues grew by 28 percent to P84.3 billion.
Anna Ma. Margarita Bautista-Dy, Ayala Land chief executive officer, said the company is hitting growth targets across all business lines and market segments, with the residential sales better than expected.
“We will continue to pursue our growth trajectory with a keen eye on capital efficiency,” she said.
Property development revenues grew 34 percent to P51.9 billion. Residential revenues surged 40 percent to P43.7 billion. Revenues from commercial and industrial lots jumped 19 percent to P6.3 billion. Meanwhile, office-for-sale revenues declined by 15 percent to P1.8 billion. “Residential reservation sales in the first semester increased by 17 percent year-on-year to P68.4 billion, as second-quarter sales grew 15 percent year-on-year to P35 billion, led by the premium and vertical segments,” the company said.
San Miguel Food nets P20B
San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. (SMFB) posted profits of P20 billion in the first half of the year, higher by 6 percent. Sales rose 4 percent to P192.9 billion.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grew by 5 percent to P33.9 billion. Ramon Ang, SMFB chairman, noted the company’s strong start for the year.
“We remain focused on leveraging our strengths to drive growth and efficiency,” he said.
“We are also committed to supporting our nation’s food security and economic growth by expanding access to essential products. We are very optimistic about the opportunities ahead and confident in our ability to deliver continued value to all our stakeholders,” Ang added.
The company said its food business under San Miguel Foods has doubled its income to P6.4 billion, over a 3 percent increase in sales of P87.8 billion. The beer business under San Miguel Brewery Inc. posted an operating income of P15.9 billion, over a 1 percent increase in sales to P75.1 billion.
The spirits business under Ginebra San Miguel Inc. reported operating income of 4.4 billion, over sales of P30 billion.
Cebu Pacific grosses P26.1B
Cebu Pacific (CEB) reported a 15 percent growth in revenue to P26.1 billion in the second quarter of the year compared to last year, driven by a 10 -percent surge in passenger volume.
“This has been a very important quarter for our airline, marked by significant achievements and crucial milestones. We’ve set new highs in terms of passengers flown, finalized our quasi-reorganization, and made the historic order of up to 152 aircraft from Airbus,” said Michael Szucs, CEB CEO.
CEB carried 6 million passengers in the second quarter, the highest passenger count in a single quarter in its history.
This is 10-percent higher than the previous year, fueled by the summer traffic from April to May, the school break in June and additional frequencies in high-traffic destinations.
Passenger business generated almost P18 billion in revenues, 13 percent higher year on year, while the ancillary business generated close to P7 billion, up by 16 percent.
CEB said its cargo business also showed a notable improvement, as it flew close to 36 million kilos of cargo in the second quarter, higher by 39 percent from the same period last year. – Myla Iglesias
Globe H1 hits P11.7B
Globe Telecom Inc. reported an P11.7-billion core net income in the first half of the year, driven by sustained growth in its mobile and corporate data businesses.
Globe closed the first semester with P82.2 billion in consolidated service revenues, up 2 percent from a year ago, despite the decline in home broadband and non-telco services. Mobile and corporate data businesses reported growth which accounted for 83 percent of the total consolidated gross service revenues, Globe said.
“We are happy that our financial performance for the first half of the year remained robust.
Our EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margin held steady at 52 percent, while core NIAT (net income after taxes) grew by an impressive 21 percent, demonstrating our consistent growth and unwavering resilience amidst economic headwinds,” said Ernest Cu, Globe president and CEO.
Globe’s consolidated EBITDA amounted to nearly P43 billion, up by 6 percent from the previous year. – Myla Iglesias
Nickel Asia profit drops
NICKEL Asia Corp. (NAC) recorded a 36-percent decline in its attributable net income for the first half of the year at P1.12 billion, compared to P1.75 billion in the same period last year.
NAC said revenues from ore sales also declined by 16 percent year-on-year to P7.79 billion from P9.29 billion, due to lower ore prices resulting from the global nickel oversupply.
Despite the drop, the company’s operating mines sold a combined 8.16 million wet metric tons (WMT) of nickel ore during the period, higher by 8.5 percent than last year’s 7.52 million WMT.– Jed Macapagal
