LT Group profit down 18% to P6.85B as of Sept.

LT Group Inc., the holding company of tycoon Lucio Tan, said profit in the nine months through September dipped 17.6 percent to P6.85 billion, as its tobacco unit slowed and its liquor business swung to a loss.

A filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange Friday showed that the decline came as revenues were 1.24 percent lower to P43.38 billion even as the banking, beverage and property development businesses posted increased sales.

The biggest earnings contributor was Philippine National Bank, which accounted for 44 percent, followed by  Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. Inc. (PMFTC), which accounted for 41 percent.

This was followed by Asia Brewery Inc. at 9 percent and Eton Properties Philippines at almost 3 percent.

In its filing, LT  Group said Philippine National Bank’s income rose 40.6 percent to P6.67 billion, bolstered by trading gains, during the nine-month period.

Major earnings driver PMFTC posted a 37.7-percent dip in profits to P2.78 billion during the period as volume fell 20.7 percent to 17.8 billion sticks in the third quarter.

Asia Brewery delivered strong earnings, with net income during the nine-month period up 13.6 percent to P626 million. The company sustained growth by introducing its own brands like Cobra energy drink and Summit drinking water.

As noted, liquor unit Tanduay Distillers’ bottom line suffered, due to the impact of competition and the implementation of higher excise taxes this year. The company during the nine-month period reported a net loss of P41 million, compared to a net income of P489 million during the same period last year.