Alliance Global reports big improvement in Q3 earnings

Tycoon Andrew Tan-led conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI) saw an improvement in third quarter earnings as its property, gaming and fast-food businesses started to recover from the slump seen in the second quarter when Metro Manila and other key regions were under stricter quarantine measures.

AGI booked a third quarter net profit attributable to equity holders of parent firm of P2 billion, up by 142 percent from the level posted in the second quarter. However, this was 57-percent lower compared to the net income posted in the third quarter of 2019, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the nine-month period, attributable net profit amounted to P5.8 billion, down by 55 percent year-on-year.

“We are very encouraged by the sharp improvement in earnings across all our business segments during the third quarter as the economy gets a reboot with the further easing of the quarantine restrictions. Our interim performance also validated the soundness of our diversification strategy as evidenced by the strong results delivered by our international liquor operations even amidst the global pandemic,” AGI chief executive officer Kevin Tan said in a press statement.

AGI’s consolidated revenues fell by 28 percent year-on-year to P91.8 billion.

“We are optimistic that we can maintain this sequential improvement following the trajectory of the economy, which we expect to slowly improve,” Tan added.

Gaming arm Travellers International Hotel Group, the owner and operator of Resorts World Manila, incurred a nine-month net loss of P5.4 billion, a reversal of last year’s net profit of P786 million. In the third quarter alone, attributable net loss amounted to P1.7 billion, wider than the net loss of P59 million year-on-year.

Compared to the second quarter, however, Travellers’ gross revenue improved by four-fold to P3.7 billion in the third quarter as the gaming business was rekindled as the easing of quarantine protocols allowed the dry run of casino operations.

The fast-food business under Golden Arches Development Corp. (GADC), popularly known as McDonald’s Philippines, trimmed its third quarter net loss to P257 million as the reopening of the economy improved quarter-on-quarter sales by 53 percent to P4.5 billion.

For the nine-month period, GADC registered a net loss of P967 million versus a net profit of P1.2 billion a year-ago as sales revenues fell by 39 percent year-on-year to P14.2 billion as the lockdown measures in the second quarter battered its business. GADC ended the period with 658 stores as compared to 669 stores at the start of the year. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA