Listed firms’ H1 profits post 2-digit growth

MANILA, Philippines - The combined net income and revenues of companies listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) in the first half of 2014 grew double digits year-on-year on the back of solid corporate fundamentals.

The PSE said aggregate first-half earnings of the listed companies grew 10.8 percent to P311.57 billion, reversing a single-digit dip in the same period last year.

Consolidated revenues likewise soared 28.8 percent to P3.27 trillion from P2.54 trillion a year ago.

 “The growth in revenues and net incomes support the valuations that investors have been placing in our market.  What the numbers essentially show is that the rise in our index is driven by strong fundamentals among our listed companies,” said PSE president and chief executive officer Hans B. Sicat.

The PSE said five of the six sectors showed growth in their combined profits during the first semester led by the services sector which posted the biggest rise in consolidated income at 43.3 percent to P46.61 billion.

The combined income of the property sector was the second highest as it grew 35.1 percent year-on-year due to non-recurring gains and the strong performance across the property development, commercial leasing and services businesses of real estate firms, the PSE said.

The mining and oil sector, meanwhile, saw a 31.5-percent improvement in its collective profit as select mining and oil companies reported higher sales for the period, the country’s market operator further reported.

The holding firms and industrial sectors had a 22.7-percent and 16.8-percent increase in their consolidated earnings, respectively.

The PSE said companies in the holding firms sector realized foreign exchange gains and saw strong contributions from their business units.

Collective net income of the 30 companies that make up the benchmark PSE index (PSEi) also increased 9.9 percent in the first half of the year to P221.48 billion. PSEi firms accounted for 71.1 percent of the total market’s net profit for the period.

 “The Asean integration will require that our companies be competitive both on the local front and regionally as well. We hope that fortified operations domestically and the additional revenue stream from ventures overseas will help make our companies more profitable,” Sicat said.