Filinvest nets P5.9B

Gotianun-led conglomerate Filinvest Development Corp. grew its net profit in the first nine months by 21 percent year-on-year to P5.9 billion on the back of earnings from the banking and property businesses.

Banking arm East West Bank saw a 78-percent surge in nine-month net profit to P2.33 billion on higher interest earnings and trading gains. The bank contributed the biggest bulk in group-wide revenues at 42 percent.

The bank’s net interest income grew 24 percent year-on-year to P11.21 billion, while non-interest income, excluding trading, went up by 42 percent mostly from fees and commissions related to its consumer lending and deposits businesses.

“We believe the worst of the pain from the expansion program that started in 2012 that saw our branch stores grow from 168 to 443, assets from P96 billion to P268.78 billion, but kept income flat at around P2 billion, is behind us now. We are starting to harvest the fruits of the expansion,” said East West Bank president Antonio Moncupa Jr.

“We expect income for the year to reach around P3 billion, at least a 50-percent improvement from last year. While we are yet to realize the full potential of our infrastructure and organization, we are happy to see the steady progress,”  he said.

EastWest has 443 stores to date, almost triple its 168 consolidated nationwide network five years ago. At end-September, consumer loan portfolio expanded by 50 percent year-on-year to P122.6 billion.

FDC and Eastwest bank chair Jonathan Gotianun said, “Not only are we strengthening our core businesses, but we are also diversifying our sources of income with our new joint venture and subsidiaries.”

Meanwhile, the real estate business contributed 38 percent to FDC’s revenues while the power, sugar and hotel subsidiaries contributed 11 percent, 6 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

Net income from property subsidiary Filinvest Land Inc. grew by 7 percent year-on-year to P3.5 billion.

Power subsidiary FDC Utilities, Inc. (FDCUI) marked a major milestone last September as President Duterte inaugurated its 3x 135-megawatt clean coal power plant in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental.

“We are proud to say that all three units are now connected to the grid. Two units have been declared commercially operational and we expect the third to be declared before year end,” said FDC president Josephine Gotianun-Yap. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla