ABS-CBN trims losses
Lopez-owned ABS-CBN Corp. has trimmed its losses by 5 percent to P2.1 billion in the first half of the year from P2.2 billion last year.
Consolidated services revenues dipped by 11 percent to P7.8 billion from P8.8 billion, attributed to a decline in the content production and cable TV and broadband businesses, which dropped 3 percent and 23 percent, respectively.
Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at P25 million.
ABS-CBN said it spent P1.3 billion on capital expenditures and program rights acquisitions. Of the amount, P300 million was spent on content production and distribution while the rest went to cable and broadband expansion.
The company said it continued to focus on growing the broadband subscriber base of unit Sky Cable. (Myla Iglesias)
…while GMA profit drops
GMA Network Inc. yesterday reported a 49- percent decline in net income to P602 million in the first half of the year from P1.183 billion last year, due to lower advertising and sales revenues.
GMA Network and its subsidiaries sealed the first six months of the year with consolidated revenues of P7.78 billion, lower by 8 percent than last year’s revenue of P8.46 billion.
With revenues declining in between periods, the company’s consolidated EBITDA went down by 22 percent to P1.99 billion in the first semester from P2.558 billion in the same period last year.
GMA’s advertising revenues fell short by P606 million compared to the same period last year, and sales of goods also declined by P78 million.
“These decreases were only slightly offset by a modest improvement in service sales, which increased by less than a million pesos between periods,” it said.
GMA Network said costs and operating expenses for the period grew 2 percent to P7.08 billion.
“Both production and other direct costs, as well as general and administrative expenses, grew compared to the first half of 2023, though this was partially offset by a decrease in the cost of goods sold between periods,” it said. (Myla Iglesias)
Bank leads growth for FDC
Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC) said profit in the first half of the year surged 41 percent to P5.5 billion from last year’s P3.9 billion.
Revenues grew 30 percent to P55.5 billion from P42.69 billion.
The Gotianun-controlled holding firm said its banking segment made the biggest contribution to revenue, accounting for 44 percent of the conglomerate’s total.
This was followed by power and real estate with each adding 23 percent. Hospitality accounted for 4 percent of the revenues, while the balance was distributed among other businesses.
“FDC’s strong performance in the first half of 2024 was broad-based, led by banking, power, and real estate. We look forward to sustaining our robust growth as we keep honing our strategies and operations, and as we implement important capital investments for long-term growth,” said Rhoda Huang, FDC chief executive officer.
In the group’s lending business under EastWest Bank, the growth was driven by a 22 percent increase in consumer loans leading to a 28 percent rise in net interest income. Consumer lending remained the bank’s core product, accounting for 82 percent of the total loan book, helping push net interest margin to 8.1 percent.
Meanwhile, non-interest income grew by 12 percent, in line with banking transaction growth.
The energy business under FDC Utilities Inc. posted a 75 percent surge in revenues, driven by higher energy sales from its fully contracted 405-MW plant located in Misamis Oriental in Mindanao.
The significant rise in power generation and sales was made possible by the Mindanao-Visayas interconnection project.
The real estate business posted an 18 percent increase in revenue attributed to improved residential sales and mall rentals.
The hospitality business reported a 49 percent increase in revenues made possible by a strong resurgence in domestic tourism and international arrivals. (Ruelle Castro)
Alsons posts profit drop
Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. reported a 9-percent decline in its first semester profit at P1.06 billion compared to last year’s P1.17 billion.
Alsons said revenues for the period were 14 percent down to P5.89 billion from the previous year’s P6.9 billion.
Alsons said the weaker first half performance could have been higher if not for the improved financials in the second quarter of the year, driven by the heightened demand for electricity due to weather conditions brought by El Niño as well as the profitability of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.
“We’ve made a solid recovery after the disruptions caused by the Mindanao earthquake last year, November 2023… Our outlook for the rest of the year is positive, bolstered by our new ASPA (ancillary service power agreement) with NGCP (National Grid Corporation of the Philippines) and the opportunities presented by the RCOA (retail competition open access) market in Mindanao,” said Philip Edward Sagun, Alsons deputy chief financial officer, in a statement.
The company recently signed a deal with Holcim Philippines wherein its retail electricity supplier (RES) company will supply 80 percent of the energy needs of the cement manufacturer’s facilities in Davao and Misamis Oriental.
“We look forward to collaborating with other industry players, particularly in the Visayas region, where a power supply shortage is forecasted for next year. As a RES supplier, we are committed to providing tailored power supply options designed to reduce costs and support the operational and sustainability goals of our partners,” Sagun said.
Alsons currently has an aggregate capacity of 468 megawatts (MW) with power plants that utilize coal and diesel technologies, serving more than eight million people in the Mindanao region.
The company is diversifying its power portfolio by developing three renewable projects: 14.5 MW Siguil hydro power plant in Sarangani, 37.8 MW hybrid Siayan hydro-solar power plant in Zamboanga del Norte, and 42 MW Bago hydro power plant in Negros Occidental. (Jed Macapagal)
Power firm profit tanks
Petro Energy Resources Corp. (PERC) grew its revenue by 33 percent for the first half of the year at P1.73 billion compared to last year’s P1.3 billion.
However, the company said its net income took a hit due to higher financing charges incurred from loans used to fund the asset acquisition – declining by 11 percent to P527 million from last year’s P591 million.
PERC highlighted the 43 percent improvement in electricity sales for the period to hit P1.41 billion compared to last year’s P984 million.
The company said the strong revenue growth was a result of the consolidation of Petro Wind Energy Inc. (PWEI) after it acquired the 20 percent stake of EEI Power Corp. (EEIPC) in PWEI last year.
PERC also acquired EEIPC’s 44 percent equity in Petro Solar Corp. and 7.5 percent equity in Petro Green Energy Corp., making the latter a 75 percent-owned subsidiary of PERC.
Among PERC’s existing power projects are the 32 megawatts (MW) Maibarara geothermal power project in Batangas, 70 MW Tarlac solar power project as well as the 36 MW Phase 1 and 13.2 MW Phase 2 wind projects in Aklan. (Jed Macapagal)
Vista Land H1 hits P6.4B
Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. said profit for the first half of the year rose 11 percent to P6.4 billion from last year’s P5.76 billion.
The Villar-controlled realtor said revenues grew 8 percent to P19.9 billion.
“Real estate revenue reached P9.6 billion, while rental income amounted to P8.5 billion for the six months ending June 30, 2024,” the company said.
Vista Land said it launched P22.2 billion-worth of projects nationwide for the period.
“We are pleased with our performance in the first semester of 2024, as we have maintained our growth trajectory. We are committed to continuing our strategy of asset maximization and optimization through Vista Estates, which now encompasses 26 locations nationwide. We also aim to solidify our foothold in the horizontal residential market with several launches in areas specifically in the provinces given our wide geographic presence in the country,” said Manuel Villar Jr., Vista Land chairman.
“This year’s increased project launches contribute significantly to our extensive project pipeline and have positively impacted our reservation sales, which totaled P39.2 billion for the first semester – a 10 percent increase compared to the same period last year,” he added.
Megawide grows profit by 21%
Megawide Construction Corp. said profit for the first half of 2024 grew 21 percent to P438 million.
Revenues stood at P11.4 billion, contributed largely by construction and partially from the real estate segment’s initial contribution.
Consolidated EBITDA amounted to P2.6 billion versus the previous year’s P2.1 billion.
Edgar Saavedra, Megawide chairman, said the company’s construction business has been a significant growth driver, with revenues of P10.9 billion, benefiting Megawide’s integrated operations to sustain a strong start to the year.
Saavedra said the construction is expected to be a “key engine for Megawide’s value creation model.”
The company currently has a book order of P48 billion as of end-June, with new projects amounting to P8.9 billion.
The company’s pre-cast and construction solutions (PCS) business posted revenues of P1.9 billion.
“Our PCS business is expected to be a strong contributor moving forward, especially with higher margins associated with it and significant economies of scale potential. We believe that the growing appreciation and application of our PCS products in infrastructure, residential, and commercial developments will accelerate the unit’s income generation and boost its share to our construction business,” Saavedra said.
Real estate revenue was at P311.1 million. Landport operations posted revenues of P205.2 million. (Ruelle Castro)
CREC nets P456.4M
Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) said profit for the first half of the year reached P456.4 million, up 0.24 percent from last year’s P455.27 million.
Revenues grew 13 percent to P2.09 billion from P1.85 billion the prior year.
“This performance is primarily attributed to a 15 percent growth in electricity sales to P1.73 billion from P1.5 billion last year,” the company said.
Electricity sales accounted for 83 percent of CREC’s revenue during the period, with sales at P1.08 billion, up 11 percent, largely composed of revenues from commercial and industrial customers.
“The rest of the company’s electricity sales include revenues from the government’s feed-in-tariff (FIT) program which generated P271.82 million; and sales through the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) that totaled P57.84 million,” the company said.
“CREC attributes this robust performance to our portfolio of 10 operating solar power facilities with a combined gross operating capacity of 285 megawatts (MW), making us the second largest solar platform in the country. We ensure optimal performance in our plants to augment grid capacity for peak demand requirements,” said Oliver Tan, CREC chief executive officer.
Tan said CREC expects a more exciting 2025.
“The full impact of the power generation revenues will be felt next year since projects currently under construction will start to be energized by then. We will focus on adding solar capacity and looking at other opportunities that take us closer to our 5 gigawatts in 5 years goal,” he said. (Ruelle Castro)
