GT Capital nets P3.7B

GEORGE Ty, Metrobank

Tycoon George Ty-led GT Capital Holdings posted a 21-percent year-on-year growth in first quarter net profit to P3.74 billion on higher share of earnings from its banking, insurance and infrastructure businesses.

Excluding one-off items, GT Capital’s three-month core profit rose by 18 percent year-on-year to P3.75 billion, the company disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

GT Capital booked consolidated revenues of P45.5 billion in the first three months, owing to higher equity in net income of associates Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank), AXA Philippines and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

“The interim soft numbers for the auto sector during the first quarter resulted from the front- loading of orders late last year in anticipation of the new excise tax. We expect sales to normalize by the second half of the year. Nevertheless, significant contributions from our associate companies Metrobank, Metro Pacific, and AXA Philippines resulted in strong first quarter growth,” GT Capital President Carmelo Maria Luza Bautista said.