LT Group 9-mo earnings beat full 2021 figure

Taipan Lucio Tan-led conglomerate LT Group Inc. eclipsed full-year earnings in 2021 as profits in the first nine-months of the year reached P20.4 billion.

Net income from January to September more than doubled from the same period last year despite lower earnings by key business segments. This was also higher than the conglomerate’s profits of P20.25 billion for all of last year.

The biggest contributor for the year was LT Group’s tobacco business, accounting for 59 percent of attributable income.

Through PMFTC Inc., whose brands include Marlboro and Fortune, the segment reported a 10 percent net income drop to P12 billion as demand was hit by higher prices.

LT Group said PMFTC saw sales volume shrink 4.5 percent amid “higher excise taxes that the company had to absorb prior to the price increase.”

Meanwhile, industry-wide volume shed 3 percent to 40 billion sticks due to price increases in the first quarter of the year. Under Republic Act11346, prices per pack went up P5 to P55 last Jan. 1, the company said.

The second-largest contributor was Philippine National Bank, which accounted for 32 percent of the holding company’s income.

PNB’s earnings, using the pooling accounting method, dropped 53 percent to P11.5 billion. INQ