Aboitiz Equity nets P18 B in 1st 9 months

MANILA, Philippines - Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) posted a net income of P18 billion in the first nine months of the year, up 12 percent from P16 billion, mainly due to non-recurring gains and higher contributions from its power unit.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, AEV said it booked a non-recurring gain of P894 million during the period as a result of the revaluation of groupwide dollar-denominated liabilities and placements.

Power continued to be AEV’s main income driver, accounting for 78 percent of total earnings followed by the banking and food businesses with contributions of 17 percent and five percent, respectively.

In the third quarter alone, AEV chalked up a net income of P6.2 billion or an increase of seven percent from P5.8 billion.

Unit Aboitiz Power Corp. reported a net profit of P18.4 billion, 13 percent higher than the year earlier level.

Higher average selling prices and increased net generation resulted to a 12-percent hike in the power generation business’ earnings contribution to P13.2 billion.

AboitizPower sold 1,562 megawatts, up 12 percent due to increased capacity sales through bilateral contracts.

Expansions in volumes and margins resulted to a 25-percent rise in AboitizPower’s distribution group’s earnings to P1.7 billion. Total attributable electricity sales went up by six percent to 2,935 GWh as demand from all customer segments continued to grow with the industrial segment recording a seven-percent hike in volume sales.

The banking group contributed P3.1 billion to AEV’s total earnings, an improvement of 15 percent.

Union Bank of the Philippines chipped in P2.8 billion in earnings or an increase of 19 percent due to higher net interest income and hefty trading gains.

AEV’s non-listed thrift bank, City Savings Bank, Inc., however, reported a 12 percent drop in profit to P318 million, weighed down by higher expenses as a result of its ongoing expansion.

On the other hand, the company’s food unit, Pilmico Foods Corp. posted net earnings of P906 million, down from P937 million due to decreasing margins resulting from softer prices and an uptick in input costs for the feeds and swine divisions.

As of September 30, 2012, AEV’s total assets stood at P211 billion as against liabilities of P106.3 billion.

The company earlier approved a proposal to acquire 100 percent of affiliate Aboitiz Land, Inc. for P3.2 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed this month.

AboitizLand is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aboitiz and Company, Inc., and has been operating for close to two decades. It is one of the country’s most trusted Cebu real-estate developer with investments in residential, commercial, and industrial developments. Currently, AboitizLand is also the developer and operator of two economic zones, the Mactan Economic Zone II and the West Cebu Industrial Park in Balamban, Cebu.

AEV acquired close to eight million additional shares in UnionBank through the market, raisiing its total shareholdings in the bank to 44.52 percent from 43.27 percent at the start of the year.