JG Summit Holdings Inc. said profit in the first quarter of the year reached P1.9 billion, down 70.59 percent from last year’s P6.46 billion.
Revenues amounted to P67.88 billion, down 9.74 percent from last year’s P75.21 billion.
The company said it reported a core profit of P4.3 billion, up 19 percent from last year, though it registered lower gross margins due to unfavorable market prices in JG Summit Petrochemicals Group, and higher depreciation and maintenance costs in Cebu Air Inc.
The company also reported higher foreign exchange and market valuation losses worth P2.1 billion, and a P905 million share in Manila Electric Co.’s impairment loss from its PacificLight Power investment and accretion expense.
“COVID-19 (new coronavirus disease 2019) has clearly affected, in varying degrees, numerous businesses across the world. At JG Summit, the significant growth in our property and banking revenues, as well as the flat topline of our food business has cushioned the negative impact of the pandemic as we immediately saw a significant decline in our airline and petrochemical revenues early in the year,” the company said.
Universal Robina Corp. reported profit of P2 billion, down 35 percent, due to higher foreign exchange loss for the period. Revenues of P33.5 billion, flat from last year, with its Philippine operation taking up the slack from overseas operations.
Robinsons Land Corp. meanwhile posted profit of P3.3 billion, up 82 percent. Revenues was at P11.4 billion, up 68 percent, despite closure of malls and many of its hotels due to the COVID-19-driven quarantine in Luzon.
Cebu Air reported a net loss of P1.2 billion due to lower passenger volumes coupled with increase in depreciation and aircraft maintenance costs. Topline was at P15.9 billion, down 25 percent decline, as passenger revenues and ancillaries drop 27 percent and 13 percent, respectively as both passenger volume and fares decreased. Cargo revenue likewise fell 30 percent year-on-year as volumes and yields were lower.
The petrochemical business under JG Petrochemicals posted a net loss of P1.1 billion, with revenues at P2.8 billion, down 71 percent. The business attributed the loss to “unfavorable market conditions such as dull demand; uncompetitive market prices in the region; facility shutdowns; and slow trading activity during the enhanced community quarantine.”
Robinsons Bank Corp. posted profit of P350 million, up 722 percent amid improvement in net interest margin driven by a shift towards higher yielding consumer loans and lower deposit costs due to favorable monetary policies. Revenues was at P2.3 billion, up 23 percent.
The company also reported an equity in net earnings of associated companies and joint ventures worth P830 million, down 50 percent, mainly due to Meralco’s impairment loss from its PacificLight Power investment and accretion expense, slightly offset by Global Business Power’s profit expansion on the back of higher energy fees and coal trading.
