LTG’s Jan-Mar earnings flat at P1.6B
Tycoon Lucio Tan-led conglomerate LT Group Inc. posted P1.59 billion in net profit attributable to equity holders in the first quarter of the year, flat compared to last year, mostly due to sluggish tobacco earnings.
Including minority interest, LTG’s consolidated net income amounted to P2.1 billion for the quarter, slightly lower than the P2.2 billion reported for the same period last year, based on a regulatory filing.
Net income from the tobacco business dropped to P409 million from P576 million in the same period last year amid cutthroat competition. The group noted that Philip Morris-Fortune Tobacco, however, had been able to stabilize its market share at over 70 percent despite the illicit trade in cigarettes.
On the other hand, LTG saw higher first quarter earnings from the liquor, beverage and property development segments while net income chalked up by banking arm Philippine National Bank was flat at P1.4 billion.
The distilled spirits segment realized an income of P75 million for the quarter, a reversal of the P11-million net loss reported in the same period of 2014. The beverage and property development segments also reported higher net income.
Consolidated revenues amounted to P13.1 billion for the quarter, 1.9 percent higher year-on-year, mostly due to increased revenues in the beverage and property development segment.
Meanwhile, LTG’s share in net income from the banking segment improved slightly from to P754 million this first quarter from P747 million in the comparative period.
Interest income from banking operations slipped by 3.3 percent year-on-year to P5.2 billion in the first quarter compared to the previous year, which in turn was bloated by a nonrecurring interest income from the redemption of non- performing assets.
For the beverage segment, net income grew by 14.4 percent year-on-year to P301 million for the quarter. Revenues of the beverage segment went up by 3.9 percent year-on-year to P3.5 billion. Cobra energy drink accounted for the biggest share of revenues at close to 35 percent with over 70 percent market share while revenues from Absolute and Summit water, Vitamilk soymilk and commercial packaging were also higher year-on-year.
For distilled spirits, the turnaround to profitability was attributed to marketing efforts to improve sales especially for its main product, Tanduay Five Years. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla
