Ayala profit in H1 hit P9.8B, up 34%

Conglomerate Ayala Corp. grew its net profit in the first half by 34 percent year-on-year to P9.8 billion, driven by higher earnings from its property, telecommunications and water utility businesses.

Equity earnings from telecommunications unit Globe Telecoms, which quadrupled year-on-year, more than offset the decline in the contribution of banking unit, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), which registered lower trading gains in the first half.

In a statement on Thursday, Ayala said the substantial improvement in equity earnings from international businesses also boosted earnings in the first semester.

Altogether, these put total equity earnings in the first half of the year at P12.8 billion, up by 35 percent versus the same period last year.

“We are very pleased to see our core businesses continuing their strong earnings momentum. This attests to the strength of the broader business environment in the country. We remain optimistic that this momentum can continue given the government’s ongoing reforms and the efforts to push for vital infrastructure projects that can unleash development opportunities and address critical bottlenecks,” Ayala Corp. president and chief operating officer Fernando Zobel de Ayala said in a statement.

Ayala’s core business units performed in the first semester versus the same period last year as follows:

•Ayala Land’s net income in the first semester grew by 25 percent to P7.1 billion;

•Globe Telecom posted a 385-percent growth in net income to P6.8 billion due to substantially lower depreciation charges;

•Manila Water’s net income rose by 8 percent to P3.2 billion, augmented by new businesses;

•Bank of the Philippine Islands booked a 33-percent decline in net income to P8 billion mainly due to the sharp contraction in trading gains.

Meanwhile, Integrated Microelectronics Inc. (IMI) posted a five-fold improvement in net income in the first half of the year to $11.3 million on higher demand from customers in the telecom, automotive electronics, and storage device markets helped lift revenues and earnings.