JG Summit Holdings Inc. said profit last year reached P31.3 billion, up 63 percent from the prior year’s P19.2 billion.
The company said core profit stood at P25.3 billion, up 13 percent from the prior year due to margin improvements in airline, banking and food subsidiaries.
Revenues reached P301.8 billion, up 3 percent, amid
“robust passenger volumes, better yields and higher ancillary revenues in the airline business, wider net interest margins (NIM) and trading gains in the banking unit,” among others.
“These were tempered by slower growth in our international branded consumer foods (BCF) and agro-industrial and commodities (AIC) divisions; as well as lower sales volume and average selling prices in our petrochemicals business,” the company said.
The food business under Universal Robina Corp. (URC) reported profit of P9.8 billion, up 6 percent.
Revenues reached P134.2 billion, up 5 percent from 2018, on better supply fulfillment and wider distribution coverage in BCF Philippines, higher flour volumes, and a “robust animal nutrition and health performance” in AIC.
The company said the growth was “moderated by softer results in our Thailand, Oceania and Vietnam markets.”
“The transformation projects in our domestic BCF business and the recovery in Vietnam likewise resulted in better operating margins,” JG Summit said.
The realty business under Robinsons Land Corp., (RLC) meanwhile saw profit hit P8.7 billion, up 6 percent.
Revenues hit P30.2 billion, up 3 percent as the unit posted “stable growth and cinema ticket sales in existing malls, rental escalation and higher renewal rates in previously built offices, better occupancy rates in current hotels, plus fresh contribution from newly opened properties.”
“In addition, there was strong demand for residential units from both local and foreign buyers,” the company said.
“However, our industrial and integrated developments division experienced a decline from a higher base last year (2018), when we booked revenues from the sale of land to our joint venture with Shang Properties Inc.,” it added.
The budget carrier business under Cebu Air Inc., meanwhile saw profit hitting P9.1 billion, up 133 percent, driven by “effective cost management, the deployment of larger and more fuel-efficient planes, coupled with favorable oil and currency environment for the year.”
Revenues amounted to P84.8 billion, up 14 percent, on the backdrop of “a double-digit growth in passenger volume, higher average fares, and increased ancillary revenue per passenger.
Unit JG Petrochemicals Group (JGSPG) meanwhile reported profit of P970.6 million.
Revenues declined 31 percent to P29.1 billion due to weakened market conditions brought about by protracted US-China trade tensions and the overall slowdown in the global economy, which the company said “led to tepid petrochemicals demand causing our volumes and average selling prices to drop.”
“Full year EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) declined by 84 percent from last year (2018) to P538.7 million as average selling prices fell faster than raw material costs. However, anticipating better EBITDA generation capability after the completion of the turnaround maintenance and the expansion projects, we reversed an impairment loss booked in 2004, when JGSPG’s operations were only limited to polymer plants,” the company said.
The banking business under Robinsons Bank Corp. reported profit of P719.4 million, up 126 percent.
Revenues reached P8.1 billion, up 32 percent on the back of a 17-percent gross loan portfolio expansion, mostly led by consumer loans. The bank also booked substantial trading gains from treasury business activities for the period.
Net income rose faster at 126 percent growth to P719.4 million as net interest margins continue to widen.
“The shift towards consumer loans lifted average loan yields while favorable policies from the central bank helped manage funding costs,” the company said.
Full year equity in net earnings of associated companies and joint ventures increased 31 percent at P13.4 billion mainly driven by United Industrial Corp.’s P3-billion gain from its acquisition of Marina Mandarin in the second quarter of last year offset by the flat earnings from Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
“Coming from a very challenging 2018, we saw a strong recovery as JGS posted a significant earnings expansion in 2019 driven by our core businesses in food, air transport and banking. Our plan is to sustain this growth in the coming years as we have clearly laid out our strategic priorities leveraging on the strength of our group ecosystem while at the same time drive focus in strengthening our organizational and people capabilities — accelerating digital transformation, embedding a customer-centric culture and adopting global best practices in enterprise sustainability. We also hope to navigate the current difficult environment brought about by the global pandemic (COVID-19) and expect to be resilient given the diversity of our portfolio and the strength of our balance sheet. With the help of our employees and our different stakeholders, we are confident that we will only emerge stronger, united, and more prepared to forge ahead.” said Lance Gokongwei, JG Summit president.
