Telco, energy units drag Ayala earnings

Logo of ACEN Corp., the listed energy arm of the Ayala Group

MANILA, Philippines — The weaker performance of its telecommunications and energy units offset big gains from the banking and property businesses of Ayala Corp. in the first three months of the year. 

Ayala said in a regulatory filing its net profit during the period had declined by 4 percent to P12.6 billion. 

Excluding one-off items, the core income of the country’s oldest conglomerate went down by 4 percent to P11.3 billion. 

“Our telco and energy businesses have some catching up to do,” Ayala president and CEO Cezar Consing said. 

READ: Ayala tags 2024 as ‘strongest year ever’

Consing was referring to telco giant Globe Telecom Inc. and renewable energy firm ACEN Corp. 

For its part, ACEN said it would focus on its pipeline projects this year to bounce back. 

Ayala’s energy arm wants fire up 800 MW

ACEN’s bottom line fell by 28 percent to P2 billion on lower generation and weaker spot market prices. It is aiming to operationalize around 800 megawatts of capacity across its portfolio. 

Meanwhile, Globe cut its spending during the period by 38 percent to P8.5 billion to improve its balance sheet. 

The company’s core net income slipped by 22 percent to P4.5 billion. This was due to lower gross service revenues and higher financing costs, Ayala said. 

Although gains from GCash parent firm Mynt provided a boost, Globe’s net income growth was also slower at 3 percent. This registered at P7 billion. 

Further, gains from its acquired assets resulted in a 43-percent surge in the earnings of AREIT Inc. to P2.1 billion in the first quarter. The company expecting to grow its assets fivefold.