JG Summit 9-month core income jumps 128%

MANILA  -Gokongwei-led conglomerate JG Summit Holdings (JGS) said core profits during the first nine months of the year surged 128 percent to P14.9 billion while revenues grew 16 percent to P251.3 billion.

“The turnaround in JGS’ air transport operations plus margin gains in its real estate and food businesses further boosted this stellar topline performance,” JG Summit said in a stock exchange filing on Tuesday.

This offset the absence of the P3.2 billion in gains from the sale of shares in power generation unit Manila Electric Co. last year.

“We continued to sustain the topline growth and margin expansion with good operating results in the third quarter from our business units,” JG Summit president and CEO Lance Gokongwei said in the filing.

“We, however, remain cognizant of both macro and industry challenges that our SBUs (strategic business units) continue to face, especially with the recent volatility in fuel costs and FX rates, and elevated borrowing costs. With this in mind, we carry through with our initiatives to improve efficiency and profitability, while pursuing growth,” he added.

JG Summit also underscored its strong financial position during the nine-month period with consolidated gearing and debt to equity ratio of 0.7 and 0.57. Net debts during the period were down 16 percent to P46.4 billion while dividend payouts amounted to P15.7 billion, up 7 percent, driven by earnings from Meralco and Universal Robina Corp.