MANILA -Gotianun-led holding company Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC) booked lower profit in 2022 due to the absence of pandemic-era tax benefits while revenues rose as most business units recovered.
The family’s flagship banking, property, and power conglomerate said net income last year was lower by 6.6 percent to P5.7 billion compared to the level in the previous year, a stock exchange filing showed.
FDC said this was mainly due to a one-time tax benefit arising from the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act in 2021.
The company’s profit last year was also 52 percent below its pre-pandemic income of nearly P12 billion.
Revenues in 2022 rose 13 percent to P71.1 billion while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization—a measure of profitability— climbed 5 percent to P21 billion.
“Our financial performance in 2022 demonstrates our portfolio’s resilience and strength amidst the various economic headwinds that beset us,” FDC president and CEO Josephine Gotianun-Yap said in a statement.
“We are pleased with the steady recovery and improvement of each of our businesses towards last year’s second half. This gives us confidence that the trend will continue in 2023 with the support of a healthy macroeconomic environment,” she added.
FDC owns East West Bank, Filinvest Land, and power firm FDC Utilities.
In the filing, it said banking and financial services accounted for 42 percent of profits. This was followed by real estate and hospitality segments (33 percent), power (21 percent), and other businesses (4 percent).
EastWest Bank contributed a net income of P4.4 billion, up 2.3 percent.
“This growth was driven by the improvement in core revenues brought about by the build-up of fixed-income securities and the increase in loan releases during the second half of the year,” FDC said in the filing.
“The steady increase in the levels of loans and securities has increased the earning capacity to almost back to pre-pandemic levels,” it added.
Real estate businesses Filinvest Land and Filinvest Alabang Inc. contributed P4.9 billion to the parent in 2022 or an increase 15 percent.
The group cited strong residential revenues, which grew 11 percent to P13.3 billion, and the recovery of shopping mall revenues, up 15 percent to P6.7 billion.
FDC Utilities registered a net income of P2.2 billion, a growth of 6 percent from the previous year, while revenues climbed 37 percent to P12.9 billion.
The company operates a 405-megawatt coal plant located in Misamis Oriental in Mindanao.
FDC Utilities is also involved in the solar power segment through a venture with global energy group Engie Services.
The group also has interests in water through FDC Water Utilities Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of FDC Utilities.
FDC’s hotel operations, via Filinvest Hospitality Corp., saw revenues jump 60 percent to P1.9 billion last year.
“Average room rates increased across the seven properties while occupancy rates were higher for Crimson Boracay as well as Quest in Cebu and Tagaytay,” the company said.
Its portfolio spans 1,800 rooms across seven hotels in five regions under the Crimson and Quest brands. It recently added Timberland Highlands Resort in Rizal to its portfolio.