Benpres Holdings profit plunges by 92%

MANILA, Philippines - Benpres Holdings Corp., the flagship of the Lopez Group of Companies, saw its first quarter earnings drop by around 92% as a result of foreign exchange losses and lower income by units First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPHC) and ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the company said net income from January to March fell to P60 million from P731 million a year ago despite consolidated revenues reaching P4.26 billion. FPHC reported a net income of P219 million, 79% lower than P1.04 bllion it earned in the first three months last year, on poor earnings by subsidiary First Gen Corp. ABS-CBN, on the other hand, reported a 14% drop in income to P243 million from P282 million last year, with revenues growing by only 4%. Benpres also attributed its first quarter financial results to foreign exchange adjustments that resulted in a loss of P79 million versus a gain of P159 million in the same period in 2007. The peso depreciated to P41.76 per US dollar in March 2008 from P41.28 in December 2007. Benpres’ s other affiliates, however, posted growth. Sky Cable profits rose by 55% to P54 million on the back of a 23% growth in airtime revenue and a 2% drop in operating expenses during the quarter. Rockwell Land Corp. also booked a 37% increase in net income to P178 million from P130 million with bulk of the revenues coming from real estate sales of the project One Rockwell. However, First Philippine Infrastructure, Inc.’s net profit slid by 6% to P317 million from P337 million on flat revenues from the toll operations of Manila North Tollways Corp. Benpres, incorporated in 1993, is the holding company for the Lopez family’s investments in broadcasting and cable, telecomunications, power generation and distribution, infrastructure, and property development. - Lovely Nica P. Lee, BusinessWorld