Lopez Holdings income soars 65%

MANILA, Philippines - Earnings of the Lopez Group surged last year due to the partial recovery of impairment losses related to its former telecommunications unit.

Lopez Holdings Corp. said yesterday its net income soared 65 percent to P6.19 billion from P3.76 billion in 2014.

“The stellar performance of major investees First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH) and ABS-CBN Corp. contributed to the favorable financial results,” Lopez Holdings said.

FPH reported recurring net income of P5.2 billion, 11 percent higher than 2014’s P4.7 billion on the strength of its power generation, manufacturing and geothermal well drilling businesses.

ABS-CBN, meanwhile, saw a 25 percent rise in net income to P2.545 billion driven by steadily growing revenue streams from both advertising and consumer sales.

Lopez Holdings’ consolidated revenues for the year, however, slipped three percent to P96.51 billion from P99.19 billion in 2014.

As of end-2015, Lopez Holdings held a 56 percent economic interest in ABS-CBN and 46 percent in FPH.

In July last year, Lopez Holdings and Bayan Telecommunications Holdings Corp. (BTHC) sold all their stake in Bayan Telecommunications Inc.

The sale followed the conversion of Bayan debt into equity provided under the resolution of Bayan’s rehabilitation court.

Lopez Holdings said partial recovery of impairment losses related to BTHC/Bayan as a result of the sale amounted to P1.8 billion, net of related expenses.