Ayala Group nets P31 billion

MANILA, Philippines — Ayala Corp., the country’s oldest conglomerate, reported a core net income of P31 billion in the nine months to September, up 42 percent.

This was on the back of strong results from its banking business BPI, property arm Ayala Land Inc., and energy unit ACEN.

Ayala’s nine-month core net income is already at par with its full year 2019 net income, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Ayala president and CEO Cezar P. Consing said with the latest figures and despite economic challenges, the company is on track to ending 2023 with profits exceeding pre-COVID-19 levels.

“We continue to build on our solid nine month results and rationalize our portfolio wherever it makes sense to do so,” Consing said.

BPI reported a 26 percent increase in net income during the period to P38.6 billion due to sustained loan growth, margin expansion, and reduced provisions.

Excluding a gain from a property sale last year, core net income increased by 44 percent.

Ayala Land’s net income, meanwhile, grew 38 percent to P18.4 billion, driven by sustained gains in its property development and commercial leasing businesses, while ACEN’s net income jumped 59 percent to P6.6 billion as new operating capacity and the company’s sustained net seller position were further lifted by one-off gains related to the partial sale of the Salak and Darajat plant.

On the other hand, Globe’s net income decreased 27 percent to P19.4 billion, primarily because of a one-time gain on the partial sale of Globe’s data center business registered in the same period last year.

“Excluding the impact of non-recurring charges, foreign exchange and mark-to-market charges, Globe’s core net income was down eight percent to P14.8 billion as revenue growth was outpaced by higher operating expenses, depreciation, and interest expenses,” Ayala disclosed yesterday.

The company continues to scale up its new businesses, particularly health and logistics.

AC Health’s Healthway Cancer Care Hospital is scheduled to be inaugurated before year-end while AC Logistics continues to integrate its assets to eliminate redundancies, improve operational efficiency, and generate cost savings.

It also aims to capture more business from within the Ayala group.

The company’s cold storage facility in Cagayan de Oro, in partnership with Glacier Megafridge, has already reached 100 percent utilization.