GT Capital nets P9.1B
TY family-led GT Capital Holdings Inc. grew its first semester net profit by 62-percent year-on-year to P9.1 billion on higher earnings from its automotive, real estate and bancassurance businesses.
Excluding one-time gain from the sale of its 56 percent stake in power generation unit Global Business Power Corp. (Global Power) to the First Pacific group, GT Capital’s core profit rose by 16-percent year-on-year to P6.2 billion.
Consolidated revenues for the six-month period rose by 40 percent to P102.4 billion on robust vehicle sales from Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP), sustained real estate sales and higher contributions from net income of associates.
“Our strong performance for the first half of the year mirrors the country’s macro economy. We had a busy first half in 2016; consolidating our life and non-life insurance businesses, merging two key Toyota dealerships, diversifying our power generation assets into a strategic investment into MPIC (Metro Pacific Investments Corp.), which is one of the largest utilities and infrastructure conglomerates, and more recently, increasing to a majority stake our investment in the affordable housing sector. All these planned initiatives further strengthen GT Capital’s strategic position moving forward,” GT Capital president Carmelo Maria Luza Bautista said in a press statement.
Last May, GT Capital entered into a strategic partnership with MPIC which involved the sale of GT Capital’s 56 percent stake in Global Power to MPIC affiliate Beacon Powergen Holdings Inc. In exchange, GT Capital acquired a 15.55 percent direct ownership in MPIC, becoming the second largest shareholder of the infrastructure holding firm.
TMP, the country’s leading car company, grew its six-month net profit by 33 percent to P6.9 billion on the back of a 33-percent jump in revenues to P71.3 billion. The company sold 72,642 vehicles during the first half, up by 26 percent over the previous year. This was attributed to strong first-half sales of the all-new Fortuner, which was launched in March. Since April, the Fortuner has consistently doubled its previous average monthly sales of 1,500 to over 3,300 units in June. Noted as another best-selling Toyota model was the all-new Innova that was launched in April.
Property arm Federal Land Inc. grew its net profit for the first semester by 4 percent to P705 million. Rental income improved by 7 percent to P416.3 million, driven by earnings from GT Tower International, Blue Bay Walk, Florida Sun Estates and AXA Center. Real estate sales amounted to P3.6 billion, slightly higher than P3.5 billion in the first half of last year.
Mass housing developer Property Company of Friends Inc. nearly doubled its six-month net income to P750.1 million in the first half. Real estate sales increased by 12 percent while operating expenses declined. Total revenues for the first semester rose by 11 percent to P3.2 billion.
Banking arm Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. booked a consolidated net income of P9.1 billion for the first six months, lower than the P9.3 billion posted in the same period last year.
“Overall, we are pleased with our earnings results. Despite the volatility in the global financial markets, local elections, and heightened competition, we managed to accelerate our performance in our core business, particularly lending, low cost deposit generation, and fee income. More importantly, our margins held steady in the face of the challenging environment. We are also confident that given our strong capital, we are best positioned to take advantage of the country’s growth opportunities,” Metrobank president Fabian Dee said. “We expect recurring income to continue on a stable trend.”
Metrobank expanded its loan book by 24 percent year-on-year to P920.5 billion in the first half, faster than the 17-percent industry loan growth. The commercial segment accelerated by 27 percent as the bank continued to support the business expansion plans and infrastructure spending of the local conglomerates, while the consumer segment sustained strong volume growth of 17 percent.
On the funding side, low cost deposits increased by 21 percent in the first half of the year, faster than industry’s 13 percent growth rate. About 61 percent of the bank’s P1.3 trillion deposit base now consists of low-cost funding.
Bancassurance AXA Philippines increased its six-month net profit by nearly 20 percent year-on-year to P853.6 million. Total sales in annualized premium reached P2.3 billion while total premium revenues amounted to P9.6 billion. Asset management fees rose by 20 percent to P590 million. Weighted premium income grew by 13 percent year-on-year and investment results improved by 43 percent year-on-year.
As investee firm MPIC reported a 13 percent rise in consolidated core net income to P6.6 billion for the six months ending June, GT Capital generated a share in equity earnings for June amounting to P389 million. Core net income was lifted by strong traffic growth on all its roads, an expanded power portfolio through increased investment in Manila Electric Co. and in Global Power as well as continuing growth in its hospital group.
