Ayala Corp earnings rise 9% in H1

MANILA, Philippines - Ayala Corp. posted a nine percent growth in net income in the first half to P15.1 billion, primarily driven by the solid contributions of its real estate and power generation businesses.

In the second quarter alone, Ayala recorded a net income of P8.1 billion, up two percent from the previous year.

“We are pleased with the overall strong performance of our businesses. The active portfolio management, new business initiatives, and financial discipline we employed in recent years – supported by a healthy domestic economy – continue to bolster Ayala’s growth trajectory,” Ayala president and chief operating officer Fernando Zobel de Ayala said.

Ayala Land recorded a net income of P11.5 billion, an 18 percent-jump from the  year ago on the continued expansion of its property development and commercial leasing businesses.

BPI, on the other hand, posted a net income of P11.7 billion, down eight percent.

Globe Telecom, meanwhile, sustained its topline growth on robust demand for data-related services across its product segments, with revenues expanding five percent to P62.9 billion.

For AC Industrials, net income was three percent lower to P739 million as the lower contributions of its vehicle retail business tempered the gains from the robust performance of its electronics manufacturing arm.

The power generation business sustained its positive performance with AC Energy’s net income surging 64 percent to P949 million. This was attributed to a favorable wind regime, improved efficiencies of its operating coal plants combined with feed-in-tariff earnings from its solar plant, as well as fresh contributions from Chevron’s geothermal assets in Indonesia.

AC Infrastructure, meanwhile, continues to improve efficiencies in its three public-private partnership projects.

Light Rail Manila Corp., the operator of LRT-1, averaged close to 430,000 in daily ridership in the first semester.

Meanwhile, the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway is now serving nearly 28,000 vehicles per day, a 23 percent increase from its year-ago level.

The Beep ticketing system now has nearly four million cards in circulation and has processed approximately P7.2 billion in transactions across rail, bus, and retail platforms since its release in 2015.