LT Group Inc., the listed holding company of beer and tobacco tycoon Lucio Tan, reported an unaudited attributable net income of P21.02 billion in 2020, down 9.1 percent from P23.1 billion in 2019.
The conglomerate said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the tobacco business accounted for P16.83 billion or 80 percent of total attributable net income, followed by banking unit Philippine National Bank, which contributed P1.55 billion or 7 percent.
Tanduay Distillers Inc. contributed P1.10 billion, while property arm Eton Properties Philippines Inc. delivered P799 million.
Asia Brewery Inc. contributed P583 million, while the group’s 30.9-percent stake in Victorias Milling Company Inc. accounted for the remaining P264 million.
The tobacco business under PMFTC Inc. reported a net income of P16.9 billion, up 9 percent from the 2019 level on increased market share of the company’s premium brands.
Total industry volume, however, declined by 12 percent in 2020 on price increases to pass on the additional excise taxes, coupled with the impact of the enhanced community quarantine implemented in Luzon last year in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
From P35 per pack of cigarette in 2019, its price increased to P45 per pack in 2020 and will increase by P5 per pack annually from 2021 to 2023, then rise by 5 percent annually thereafter.
PMFTC’s volume was also lower by 16 percent year-on-year in 2020.
PNB’s net income reached P2.8 billion in 2020, down 72 percent from P7.2 billion. The bank booked P16.9 billion in provision for credit losses in 2020 because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in a downturn in the economy. Jenniffer B. Austria
Meanwhile, TDI’s income rose 65 percent in 2020 to P1.12 billion on higher volume of liquor sales and a 34-percent decrease in selling and marketing expenses, while the profit of ABI climbed 48 percent to P591 million.
Aside from the regular cash dividend of P0.15 per share that was paid in June, LT Group paid three special cash dividends in 2020, including the P0.28 per share in June, P0.23 per share in September and P0.15 per share in December.
This brought the total dividends declared in 2020 to P0.81 per share or P8.76 billion, higher than 2019’s P0.30 per share or P3.25 billion.
The 2020 dividends translated into a 37.9-percent pay-out rate, compared to 20 percent in 2019.