JG Summit Holding Inc. is optimistic about being “ahead of the curve” as it expands the footprint of its businesses this year.
Lance Gokongwei, JG Summit president, said in particular, the food business under Universal Robina Corp. (URC) is constructing a mega plant in Malvar Batangas, the first line of which is expected to be operational by the end of 2024.
“This will cover both expansion and replacement capacities for URC,” Gokongwei told shareholders Monday.
Robinsons Land Corp. opened the NuStar mall in 2023 and will open the Opus mall in July as well as Robinson Pagadian this year, Gokongwei said.
“We are further expanding NuStar Hotel, adding new rooms in the fourth quarter of this year,” he said.
Gokongwei said JG Summit will also expand various logistics facilities without giving details.
The group expects to grow full-year capacity of Cebu Pacific by 12 to 15 percent with the delivery of new aircraft, five of which have been received as of the first quarter.
DHL Summit Solutions Inc. will be onboarding more customers outside the Gokongwei group after adding two new major customers in the first quarter.
Gokongwei said digital bank GoTyme continues to expand its product offering such as small and medium enterprise lending and earned wage access.
“We are very excited about GoTyme shareholders recently acquiring SAVii which is the largest salary lender in the Philippines with a loan book of over P3 billion and more than 500,000 employees across 150 of the country’s biggest corporations,” Gokongwei said.
JG Summit closed the first quarter with a profit of P12.6 billion on the back of an 18 percent rise in total revenues.
“While we remain cautious given short term headwinds from elevated fuel prices, interest and forex rates, we continue to work hard to accelerate the recording or profits in succeeding quarters,” Gokongwei said.
“With this advancements across the group, we hope to remain ahead of the curve as we continue our commitment to providing our customers with better choices and create shared success with all our stakeholders,” he added.
