Aboitiz Equity Ventures says 2014 earnings down 13%

Published March 11, 2015 11:25am

Listed holding firm Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV) saw a 13 percent decline in 2014 net income to P18.4 billion from P21 billion a year earlier on lower contributions from its power and banking businesses.

The power business accounted for 71 percent of the total income contributions followed by banking at 18 percent, AEV said in an e-mailed statement Wednesday.

The food and land development units contributed 7 percent and 4 percent, respectively, to the total income, it added.

Power business

Aboitiz Power Corp. experienced a 10 percent profit decline to P16.7 billion from P18.6 billion, cutting its income contribution to AEV to P12.7 billion from P14.2 billion.

AboitizPower is spending P52 billion this year to expand its generating capacity by over 2,000 megawatts (MW) in five years.

"In the next five years we intend to increase our beneficial capacity by approximately 2,000 [megawatts], providing reliable and competitive power meeting the economy’s increasing energy demands," AboitizPower CEO Erramon Aboitiz said.

In a briefing Wednesday, AEV CFO Stephen Paradies said this includes the 420 MW Pagbilao baseload plant in Quezon which began construction late last year and the 340 MW Therma Visayas baseload plant in Cebu which will break ground within the year.

Paradies said another 300 MW will come from Therma South which will start operations in the first half of this year, while its unit three expansion of 170 MW will also begin within construction within the year.

The 68 MW Manolo Fortich hydropower plant in Bukidnon will start construction within the year, while the 600 MW Subic baseload plant has already recently overcome its Writ of Kalikasan case, according to Paradies.

He said the company has identified roughly 200 MW of potential run of river power projects located across the archipelago for the next five years.

Banking, food and real estate

Earnings of Union Bank of the Philippines decreased by 21 percent to P3.2 billion from P4.1 billion due to lower trading gains earned in the previous year.

Non-listed Pilmico Foods Corp. grew its income by 4 percent to P1.3 billion on the back of a remarkable performance by its feeds and farm inputs production.

“Our food group is leading the pack to integrate into ASEAN with its investment in Vietnam. It is also exploring opportunities for cross-border trade in the region,” he added.

"We should be exporting in the next month or two our first batch of flour to Indonesia," Pilmico Foods Corp. president and CEO Sabin Aboitiz said at a briefing.

He said offices are being set up around the Association of Southeast Asian Nations "to be able to export our flour."

AboitizLand Inc.’s income increased by 132 percent to P633 million from P273 million due to growth across all its business units.

AEV will continue to seize growth opportunities from infrastructure investments, which the company made as the fifth leg of its business concerns.

“Our strategic growth plans remain intact as we pursue to further strengthen and expand our businesses, keeping pace with the country’s economic growth,” the company president said.

The group has recently formed the consortium Trident Infrastructure and Development Corp. with Ayala Land Inc., SM Prime Holdings Inc. and Megaworld Corp. for the P123.8-billion Laguna Lakeshore Expressway and Dike Project, the government’s biggest PPP project to date.

It is also working on a 300 million liter per day bulk water supply project, through a joint venture with JV Angeles Construction Corp., to support Davao City's growing needs. – Danessa O. Rivera/VS, GMA News

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