Aboitiz Equity nets P17.7B

CONGLOMERATE Aboitiz Equity Ventures chalked up P17.7 billion in net profit last year, down by 4 percent from the previous year, due to a decline in earnings contributing from its banking business alongside some non-recurring items.

Excluding one-off items, AEV’s core net income rose by 2 percent to P18.3 billion. The company incurred a non-recurring loss of P602 million last year – versus the gain of P436 million in 2014 – mainly due to the mark-to-market revaluation of the dollar-denominated assets and liabilities of the power unit.

For the fourth quarter alone, AEV’s net profit rose by 40 percent year-on-year to P5.8 billion, the conglomerate reported to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

For the full year, the flagship power business accounted for 73 percent of earnings, followed by the banking and financial services with a share of 14 percent. Food, land and infrastructure units contributed 9 percent, 3 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

Aboitiz Power Corp.’s income contribution to AEV increased by 6 percent to P13.5 billion for the full year. Overall, this unit posted a 5 percent rise in net profit to P17.6 billion. Earnings from the power generation business – its bread and butter accounting for 79 percent of total – boosted earnings contribution by 3 percent to P13.9 billion.

Earnings contribution from banking unit Union Bank of the Philippines decreased by 22 percent year-on-year to P2.5 billion. Strong growth in recurring net income partially offset the absence of trading gains, resulting in full year 2015 earnings of Union Bank falling to P5.3 billion as compared to the P6.8 billion posted the previous year. 

AEV’s non-listed food subsidiaries – Pilmico Foods Corporation, Pilmico Animal Nutrition Corporation and Pilmico International PTE Limited – recorded a 31 percent growth in 2015 net income after tax to P1.7 billion. The growth in income of both the Feeds Philippines and Feeds Vietnam businesses was able to shore up earnings contribution from the food group despite a 42-percent decline in the farm business.

Property subsidiary Aboitiz Land Inc. (AboitizLand) posted a 15 percent drop in total earnings and income contribution to AEV to P536 million. The industrial business unit accounted for 52 percent contribution to revenues (P1.3 billion), while the residential business amounted to 43 percent (P1.1 billion).

AboitizLand has set aside P4.6 billion for capital spending this 2016, almost three times the capital outlays in 2015. About 29 percent of the budget will be for land acquisition and 65 percent on project development, as the company prepares for growth.

AEV’s newly-acquired company, Republic Cement and Building Materials, Inc. (Republic) only started contributing last mid-September of the year and posted income contribution of P194.4 million for the period in review.