Business Briefs, November 14, 2019

PNB net down 14.7%

In a statement, PNB said in a statement consolidated net income from January to September hit P6.4 billion, down 14.7 percent.

Removing the impact of non-recurring gains, PNB’s nine-month earnings would have ended 29 percent higher year-on-year, bank president and CEO Wick Veloso said.

For the third quarter, alone,  PNB saw a 17-percent rise in net income to P2.4 billion.

PNB said net interest income rose by 17 percent year-on-year to P23.4 billion on account of improved earnings from loans to corporate, commercial and small and medium enterprises.

Loan receivables stood at P644.8 billion, up 11 percent. Deposit liabilities grew 12 percent to P820.9 billion.

Net trading and foreign exchange gains rose by 33 percent while net fee-based revenue went up 14 percent.

Operating expenses, excluding provisions for impairment and credit losses, were up by 13 percent from year-ago level.

It ended the period with total assets of P1.18 trillion, up 30 percent.—MIGUELR.CAMUS

East West sees record profit

Gotianun-led East West Banking Corp. expects to see record earnings in 2019 after reporting a sharp 43-percent gain in profit in the first nine months of the year as it recovered from a margin squeeze in the first semester.

East West Bank said in a statement that net income from January to September hit P4.6 billion as revenue rose 11 percent to P2.2 billion. It also posted  a 14-percent return on equity during the period while total assets rose 15 percent to P387.3 billion.

The bank attributed the better performance to higher fees, improving margins, higher trading gains and lower credit costs.

“In the first half of the year, we faced a margin squeeze. Our asset yields went up by 73 bps while interest expenses doubled from the tight liquidity,” East West Bank president and deputy CEO Jesus Roberto S. Reyes said in the statement.

“Market liquidity had started to normalize in the third quarter and funding cost went lower,” he said.

In  the first nine months, net interest income grew by P714 million to P15.2 billion. Fees and commissions went up by 15 percent to P3.9 billion, while securities and forex earnings were up 46 percent to 1.4 billion.

Its total loan portfolio hit P261.5 billion, up 13 percent. Consumer loans accounted for the lion’s share, or 73 percent.—MIGUEL R. CAMUS

DMCI bottom line falls by 11%

DMCI Holdings Inc. saw earnings drop in the first nine months of the year on scheduled power plant shutdowns, lower commodity prices and the slow implementation of government infrastructure projects.

DMCI said net income from January to September fell by 11 percent to P9.3 billion from a year ago. Core net income was down 10 percent to P9.3 billion.

It cited lower income contributions from Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC), construction arm D.M. Consunji Inc. and DMCI Mining Corp.

DMCI reported  better earnings in the third quarter, with net income rising by 47 percent to P2.8 billion. This was attributed to the “normalized coal operations at SMPC compared to last year when heavy rains in July and August caused a production slowdown.”

“We had a strong third quarter but we still expect negative growth for the  full-year because of the scheduled shutdown of Calaca Units 1 and 2, low coal prices and lower construction accomplishments in our real estate business,” DMCI chair and president Isidro A. Consunji said.—MIGUEL R. CAMUS

Cosco profit surges by 193%

Cosco Capital Inc., which owns the Puregold Price Club Inc. chain of supermarkets, saw profit surging by 193 percent in the first nine months of the year due to a nonrecurring  gain.

Cosco said net income from January to September hit P11.46 billion with gains from the sale of Liquigaz Philippines, which marked the firm’s exit from the liquefied petroleum gas business.

Without the sale, Cosco said earnings would have increased 14 percent to P4.25 billion for the nine month period.

Cosco said all business segments grew during the period.

Its flagship grocery retailing business, Puregold, and S&R Membership Shopping Club contributed 54 percent of total profit. The other segments were commercial real estate, liquor distribution, specialty retail and the office warehouse business.

The grocery business grew its revenue by 10.3 percent to P109.8 billion, while consolidated net income was up 2.9 percent to P4.55 billion.—MIGUELR.CAMUS