Lopez holding firm netted P3.6B in 6 mos

LOPEZ-LED First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH) posted a P3.6-billion net profit attributable to parent firm’s shareholders in the first semester on higher margins from electricity sale and decline in expenses. This was 34 percent higher that the level in the same period last year.

Including earnings attributable to non-controlling interest, FPH’s six-month profit rose by 23 percent year-on-year to P8 billion. This was partly due to the net receipt of some P1 billion in liquidated damages paid by a contractor for delays in the construction of the San Gabriel plant and the increase in dividends received from Manila Electric Co.

The FPH group’s consolidated revenue for the first half amounted to P44.2 billion, down by 9 percent year-on-year due to a 12-percent drop in the sale of electricity to P37.8 billion. The decline was attributed to the lower fuel revenue of the two gas plants under First Gas Power Corp. and FGP Corp.

Geothermal arm Energy Development Corp. posted a P230-million increase in consolidated revenue driven by contributions from FG Hydro, Tongonan, Palinpinon and Burgos Wind power generating units. Contribution from the Bac-Man plant, however, declined.

Real estate revenue rose by 18 percent to P2.9 billion with the higher completion rate of Rockwell Land’s Proscenium, The Grove and 32 Sanson projects for the first half of 2016. However, this was significantly offset by the absence of industrial land sales from First Philippine Industrial Park this year.

Revenue from construction and services rose by 26 percent year-on-year to P2.5 billion, mainly from First Balfour’s increase in construction revenues from third party customers alongside Rockwell Land’s higher revenues from its leasing, cinema and hotel businesses and earnings from Philippine Philippine Industrial Park. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla