LT Group reports P6.5b income in first quarter

LT Group Inc., the listed holding company of beer and tobacco tycoon Lucio Tan, said Tuesday attributable net income in the first quarter climbed 4.5 percent to P6.5 billion from a year ago, on steady contribution from tobacco and banking businesses.

LT Group said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the group’s tobacco business contributed P5.01 billion or 77 percent of total attributable net income, followed by banking unit Philippine National Bank which added P1.02 billion or 16 percent of the total.

Tanduay Distillers Inc. contributed P233 million, while Asia Brewery Inc. delivered P211 million. Property arm Eton Properties Philippines Inc. also contributed P149 million, while the group’s 30.9-percent stake in Victorias Milling Company Inc. added P66 million.

PNB booked a net income of P1.83 billion in the first quarter, up 33 percent from a year ago on lower provisions for credit losses this year.

The group’s tobacco business also registered a net income of P5.03 billion, slightly higher than P5.01 billion posted a year ago even as the industry posted a 14-percent decline in volume due to higher cigarette prices.

TDI’s net income also jumped 18 percent to P235 million on the back of a 5-percent increase in the volume of liquor sales and higher rectified alcohol sales.  

ABI posted first-quarter net income of P211 million, an increase of 185 percent from the same period last year. The significant jump was due to the absence of losses from the AB Heineken joint venture as the partnership transitions starting 2021 to the engagement of ABI to brew and distribute Heineken and Tiger beers in the Philippines. Revenues, however, declined 13 percent on lower volume of bottled water and soymilk.

Eton Properties registered an 11-percent decline in first-quarter net income to P150 million because of lower residential unit sales and leasing income.

LT Group said its property firm lined up several commercial leasing projects to boost revenues. Among them are Blakes Tower, a 36-story office and residential building in Makati City which will have 11,400 square meters of office space and Eton City Square 1, the 4.3-hectare neighborhood retail and commercial center in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

Eton Properties has a leasing portfolio of around 181,000 square meters of office space and over 45,000 sq. m. of retail space.