Ayala Corp. 9-month net profit jumps 41% to P13.6B

Ayala Corp., the country’s largest conglomerate, on Tuesday announced that its net income in the first nine months of 2007, rose by 41 percent to P13.6 billion over the comparable period last year. The company said this amount has already exceeded full year 2006 net income of P12.2 billion. “The strong performance in the first nine months of the year is attributed to the company’s efforts to continually lower operating and financing costs, extract values from the existing portfolio at opportune times, and consistently manage our businesses in a way that maximizes the opportunities presented by an improving economic environment," Ayala president and chief operating officer Fernando Zobel de Ayala said in a statement. Ayala Corp. said its costs and expenses improved 20 percent as a result of a 22-percent decline in its financing expenses and a 10-percent reduction in general and administrative expenses. The company said its net income was further enhanced by gains from share sales in the first half of the year which amounted to P7 billion, while the strong earnings performance of its business units kept equity earnings stable at P9 billion. "Most of its operating units registered good earnings growth year-on-year as it continued to benefit from a vibrant consumer-driven market," the company said. Ayala Land Inc. reported a net income growth of 15 percent in the first nine months of the year to P3.1 billion as underlying demand across all segments remained upbeat. Bank of the Philippine Islands registered a net income of P7.6 billion, 11-percent higher than the same period last year. Globe Telecom, the country’s second-largest telecommunications company, posted a net income of P9.7 billion, up 4 percent year-on-year. Performance of some companies under the AC Capital portfolio was affected by the continued strengthening of the peso. Integrated Microelectronics, Inc., in particular, registered a 27-percent decline in net income to $21 million during the period. Despite sales growing by 4 percent to $306 million, the impact of the peso appreciation and higher administrative expenses related to the continuing integration of its international operations weighed on earnings during the period. Manila Water Co., on the other hand, continued to post strong operating performance with pre-tax earnings up 40 percent. Thus, despite the expiration of its income tax holiday this year, Manila Water registered only a slight 3-percent decline in its net income. “We continue to actively explore opportunities for value creation within our existing portfolio as well as in new sectors that are only beginning to open up. We believe, that the growth initiatives that each of our operating units is pursuing will continue to prove to be value accretive to the group moving forward," Ayala chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said. - Cheryl Arcibal, GMANews.TV