Aboitiz Equity earnings up 19% to P3.75B in ’06

Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV), the listed investment holding company of the Aboitiz family, said its earnings grew 19 percent last year to P3.75 billion, boosted by asset sales.

In a filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange, AEV said the net profit translates to earnings per share (EPS) of 76 centavos. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), on the other hand, went up by five percent to P6.87 billion.

AEV said it posted a strong performance in the fourth quarter, posting a net profit of P1.34 billion or an increase of 124 percent from the same period the previous year, on gains from the sale of some of its transport and food businesses.

Its power group accounted for the biggest share of revenues, contributing P2.26 billion or 12 percent higher than in 2005. The generation companies pumped in P1.09 billion, up 3.4 percent, while the distribution utilities contributed P1.18 billion or an increase of 21 percent.

AEV’s banking investments, on the other hand, chipped in P1.1 billion or an increase of seven percent from 2005. UnionBank’s performance was affected by the interim impact of expenses related to the purchase of International Exchange Bank and the industry-wide margin compression as interest rates declined further.

The food group, meanwhile, increased its income contribution by 34 percent, turning in P510 million. This is largely due to the strong performance of all its businesses, namely flour, swine and feeds, as well as a one-time gain of P39 million on the sale of its yeast business after divesting its entire stake in the joint venture Pilmico-Mauri Foods Corp.

The transport group posted the highest percentage increase in contribution, turning in P142 million, a 313 percent jump from the previous year. The company had a solid fourth quarter and booked nonrecurring gains net of some write-offs on sale of certain assets in the last quarter of 2006.

Also, the company was able to continue lowering total expenses as a result of various cost-cutting initiatives put in place as early as two years ago.

AEV said it expects its power group to continue doing well with the acquisition of the 360 megawatt Magat hydroelectric plant in Isabela, the largest facility to be privatized by the government to date.