Alliance Global income up 4% to P11B at end-Sept.

Tycoon Andrew Tan-led conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI) grew its net profit in the first nine months by 4 percent year-on-year to P11 billion on higher earnings across its property, beverage, integrated gaming and fast food businesses.

Including equity attributable to minority interest, AGI’s net profit rose by 7 percent year-on-year to P17.3 billion, the conglomerate said in a press statement on Monday.

For the third quarter alone, AGI’s net income rose by 26 percent year-on-year to P6 billion, its strongest quarterly performance in three years. Consolidated revenues for the third quarter amounted to P34.5 billion, attributed to the sustained growth in rentals, contribution from overseas liquor business, healthy sales from its quick service restaurants and a recovery in gaming revenues.

“Megaworld’s aggressive thrust to grow its investment properties is now paying off as this has resulted in an increased recurring income stream which has insulated the company from the vagaries of the property cycle,” AGI president Kingson Sian said.

He said Travellers International Hotel Group Inc.’s expanded amenities in Resorts World Manila continued to make it a popular integrated resorts destination amid intense competition in the gaming sector.

In the case of the McDonald’s operations of Golden Arches, Sian said the store expansion program further enhanced cost management, significantly boosting its bottom line performance.

“Meanwhile, Emperador’s global strategy has provided it with another leg of growth as it expands its international presence.  The company now has an unrivalled portfolio of quality and well-known foreign and local brandy and whisky products, paving the way for its premiumization strategy in the domestic liquor industry,” Sian said.

Property arm Megaworld posted an 11-percent year-on-year growth in net income to P9.3 billion for the first three quarters of the year due to an improvement in operating margins and higher rental revenues.

The company is expected to bring its office gross leasable area to about 851,000 square meters by the end of the year, reaffirming its position as a leading office landlord in the country.

Emperador, now a global player in the liquor industry and the world’s largest brandy company, recorded a net income of P4.9 billion in the first nine months of the year, up by 5 percent year-on-year on the back of improved operating efficiencies.

Travellers reported a 5 percent year-on-year increase in nine-month profit to P3 billion on gross revenues of P20.8 billion. Gross gaming revenues in the third quarter grew strongly by 14 percent year-on-year to P6.2 billion, buoyed by volume growth and an improvement in hold or “win” rate.

Golden Arches Development Corp. (GADC), which holds the exclusive franchise to operate restaurants in the Philippines under the McDonald’s brand, reported a 57-percent year-on-year increase in net income to P819 million in the first three quarters of the year.  The strong growth was driven by the 11-percent year-on-year jump in sales revenues to P16.4 billion.

“We look forward to the seasonal uptick in sales on the back of the coming holiday spending,  [helping] boost our profitability,” Sian said. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla