Banking, property units lift Ayala Corp. Q1 net income

Conglomerate Ayala Corp. on Wednesday said net income grew by nearly a third in the first three months of the year, mainly driven by the robust showing of its banking and property units.   In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the company reported its first quarter net income rose 29 percent year-on-year to P4.5 billion. Core net income, which excludes the impact of its Globe Telecom’s accelerated depreciation, expanded by 49 percent to P5.2 billion.   Strong earnings momentum was attributed to the record performance Bank of the Philippine Islands, combined with the conglomerate's increased equity stake in the lender. BPI posted a net profit of P8.4 billion, up 43 percent on a double-digit growth in revenues, driven largely by significant trading gains. Property subsidiary Ayala Land Inc. grew its net earnings by 30 percent to P2.8 billion due to the steady completion and higher bookings of its residential projects, according to Ayala.   The conglomerate's banking and real estate businesses accounted for 88 percent of equity earnings in January to March.   Higher depreciation charges, meanwhile, continue to weigh on Globe Telecom’s bottom line which posted a 76-percent drop to P656 million in the first three months year-on-year.   Net earnings of utilities business Manila Water remained steady at P1.3 billion.   Ayala's international business, on the other hand, saw continued growth despite sluggish global economic conditions. Semiconductor subsidiary Integrated Microelectronics Inc. posted lower earnings to $253,000 from $854,000 due to lower capacity utilization, particularly from facilities in China.   Business process outsourcing operations under LiveIt trimmed its losses by $1.5 million as revenues from investee companies improved by 13 percent.   As of end-March, Ayala recorded consolidated cash of P88 billion and debt of P173 billion. Cash at the  parent company alone stood at nearly P38 billion with parent debt at P70 billion. — SOA/VS, GMA News