The Zobel family-led Ayala Corp. conglomerate saw first quarter profits bounce higher on larger contributions from its property and banking businesses, Ayala Land Inc. and Bank of the Philippine Islands, while booking earnings from Globe Telecom’s partial sale of data centers.
In a filing, Ayala Corp. said net income during the period jumped 45 percent to P7.8 billion versus the same period last year.
“While the surge in infections at the start of the year delayed the expected full reopening of economic activity, the de-escalation of mobility restrictions in March are starting to be felt in our cyclical businesses in real estate and banking,” Ayala president and CEO Fernando Zobel de Ayala said.
“This encouraging development enables us to continue pursuing our investment programs and deploying capital into various growth initiatives in the Ayala group,” he added.
Ayala Land’s net income rose 14 percent to P3.2 billion during the quarter as the shopping mall and hotel segment showed signs of recovery.
At the same time, BPI reported a 60-percent profit spike to P8 billion on higher net income, lower expenses for bad loans and tax adjustments.
Globe’s net income also surged 86 percent to P13.7 billion mainly due to an P8.5 billion net gain after partly divesting its data center business to a new strategic partner, ST Telemedia Global Data Centres.
Earnings from property and banking offset “softer” contributions from power arm, AC Energy Corp., and Manila Water Co. Inc.
AC Energy’s net income fell 68 percent to P405 million during the quarter on more expensive power purchases amid a “preventive maintenance outage” at one of its coal plants. The company also earned less due to transmission line damage in the wake of Typhoon “Odette.”
Manila Water’s was also down 29 percent to P925 million “due to higher cost and expenses, which compounded the effect of Ayala’s reduced stake in the company from the sale of secondary shares to Trident Water last year.” INQ