FDC closer to record-high earnings 

Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC) is drawing closer to breaking its prepandemic income record as it continued to benefit from gains across its businesses in the nine-month period, mostly due to recovering consumer demand and tourism.

The Gotianun-led conglomerate, whose businesses include real estate, banking and power generation, on Wednesday reported a 59-percent surge in net income to a record P9.5 billion.

“The strong performance was across the group’s business segments and we look forward to sustain this growth trajectory for the balance of the year,” FDC president and CEO Rhoda Huang said in a statement.

READ: Residential segment lifts Filinvest Land profit

FDC is now P2.47 billion away from its P11.97-billion full-year earnings in 2019, its record-high. In the third quarter alone, net profit nearly doubled to P3.9 billion.

Revenues and other income in the January to September period likewise swelled by 34 percent to P86.8 billion.

An increase in consumer loans drove the 29-percent climb in the top line of EastWest Bank to P38.2 billion, according to FDC.

Net interest income jumped by 23 percent to P25.1 billion, with consumer lending pitching in the most at 83 percent.

Power subsidiary FDC Utilities Inc. also saw a 66-percent surge in revenues to P18.7 billion on higher energy sales from its 405-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Misamis Oriental province.

Recurring earnings

Meanwhile, real estate operations under Filinvest Land Inc., Filinvest Alabang and Filinvest REIT Corp. had a 27-percent uptick in revenues to P21.8 billion due to higher residential sales and mall rentals.

Rebounding domestic tourism and international arrivals spilled over to Filinvest Hospitality Corp. (FHC), whose top line expanded by 39 percent to P2.9 billion.

FHC brands include Crimson and Quest, and it currently operates seven hotels with around 1,800 rooms.

In June, FHC launched the P2.7-billion Grafik Hotel Collection, its newest hotel brand in Baguio City that is expected to be fully operational by the first quarter of 2025.

Grafik Hotel, which is being developed in partnership with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and the John Hay Management Corp., will have 256 rooms, five food and beverage outlets and a grand ballroom, among others. —Meg J. Adonis