Conglomerate Ayala Corp. said net income soared 127 percent in the first half to P37.8 billion from P16.1 billion a year ago, driven by solid growth in core businesses, one-time divestment gains from the merger of AC Education and iPeople and partial divestment of AC Energy’s thermal assets.
The conglomerate said that with the strong first-half results, it was on track to hit the P50-billion net income in 2019 or a year ahead of its 2020 target.
Ayala Corp. said in a disclosure to the stock exchange equity earnings doubled to P41.7 billion in the first semester as revenues hit P160.38 billion.
“Our first-half results reflect the strength of our core holdings in real estate, banking and telecommunications. This was complemented by the value realization initiatives in our energy business,” Ayala Corp. president and chief operating officer Fernando Zobel de Ayala said.
“We are pleased with the rapid growth of AC Energy, its growing contribution to our overall profitability and the regular value realization exercises to deliver investment returns to Ayala,” he said.
The business units of Ayala Corp. include Ayala Land Inc., Bank of the Philippine Islands, Globe Telecom, Manila Water Company, AC Industrials and AC Energy
Ayala Land reported a 12-percent growth in net income to P15.2 billion on strong revenues from commercial leasing and the sale of offices and commercial and industrial lots.
BPI saw its earnings rise 25 percent to P13.7 billion while Globe Telecom boosted its income by 21 percent to P12 billion.
Manila Water earned P2.9 billion, or 18 percent lower than the previous year as the water supply shortage which hit its Manila concession area early this year.
AC Industrials posted a net loss of P510 million in the first six months while AC Energy booked a net profit of P23.2 billion in the first half, lifted by the recovery of costs incurred from adjustments in the construction and operations of its power plants and gains from the partial divestment of its thermal assets.