Ayala Corp. nets P9 billion in Q3

Ayala Corp. booked a third-quarter net income of P9 billion, which got a boost from the divestment of thermal assets and Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc.’s (AC Health) acquisition of a hospital operator.

In a statement, the listed conglomerate said core net income went up

27% year-on-year to P6 billion, fueled by higher contributions from its property, telecommunications, energy, and healthcare businesses.

Quarter on quarter, Ayala’s core net income went down by two percent as more stringent quarantine restrictions were imposed in August.

For the first nine months, Ayala’s reported net income surged 70% to P19.4 billion, lifted by AC Health’s acquisition of Qualimed Health Network and P3.5 billion proceeds from the sale of its stake in the GN Power Kauswagan coal facility in September.

Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI), Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Globe Telecom, Inc., and AC Energy, “posted better results” in the January-to-September period.

“The improving business environment demonstrates how organizations have adapted and readjusted themselves more than a year into the pandemic,” Ayala President and Chief Executive Officer Fernando Zobel de Ayala said in a statement on Friday.

“With the pace of inoculation ramping up, we look forward to a further reopening of the economy and sustaining this positive trajectory,” he added.

Ayala Corp. reported its nine-month core profit, which also excludes divestment gains, higher loan loss provisions, remeasurement loss, and the net retroactive effect of corporate tax incentives, was flat at P19.3 billion.

“Likewise netting out divestment gains incurred in 2019, core net income translates to 83% of Ayala’s pre-pandemic level,” the company said.

Revenues for the period went up by 19% to P182.5 billion on the back of improved topline results of ALI, Globe, AC Energy, and AC Industrial Technology Holdings, Inc. (AC Industrials).

ALI’s nine-month profit rose 35% to P8.59 billion, as revenues jumped 15% to P72.6 billion.

BPI reported its net income went up by 1.8% to P17.5 billion, owing to lower loss provisions.

Globe booked a 13% higher profit at P18 billion due to increased gross service revenue and lower non-operating charges.

AC Energy’s net income improved by 22% to P4.3 billion, which was driven by additional operating capacity and recovering power demand.

Manila Water Co.’s net income also went up by 6% to P3.4 billion as it no longer recognized account provisions and adjustments, both of which were accounted for in the same period last year.

AC Industrials, on the other hand, slashed its net loss to P1.2 billion from last year’s P2.1 billion as it recorded better results in its subsidiaries. Listed Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc. saw better utilization in its plants and recovering markets, cutting its net loss to $5.3 million from $11.8 million.

AREIT

In a separate statement, the conglomerate’s real estate investment trust (REIT), AREIT, Inc., reported a 49% net income growth to P1.49 billion, while revenues improved by 46% to P2.12 billion.

AREIT attributed its positive performance in the first nine months to stable rental escalations and the income contributions of its new properties. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte