LT Group 9-months profit surges 88% to P4.7B

MANILA, Philippines – LT Group Inc. posted a net income of P4.71 billion in the first nine months, up  88 percent from the P2.5 billion recorded a year ago on the back of strong performance of its banking unit.

Philippine National Bank contributed 59 percent to total income with  P2.78 billion, while Asia Brewery Inc. reported a net profit of P693 million, accounting for 15 percent of groupwide earnings.

The tobacco business, through PMFTC, meanwhile, contributed P523 million or 11 percent of total income while Tanduay Distillers Inc. (TDI) accounted for P337 million or seven percent.

Property unit Eton pumped in P196 million or about three percent of the LT Group’s income.

“LTG’s balance sheet remained strong, with the parent company’s cash balance at P3.4 billion as of end September 2015,” the company said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday.

PNB’s profit reached P5.26 billion during the nine-month period, 42 percent higher than the P3.72 billion recorded a year ago as net interest income grew seven percent.

Asia Brewery Inc. reported a 13 percent drop in profit to  P694 million even as   brands Cobra (carbonated energy drink), Absolute and Summit (water), and Tanduay Ice continue to be market leaders.

Intense competition in the beverage market continues to affect volumes and margins, Asia Brewery said.

Despite the illicit trade, which continues to adversely affect overall profitability of the tobacco business, PMFTC reported an income of P525 million, up 13 percent year on year.

Tanduay Distillers Inc.  booked an unaudited net income of P337 million, a marked turnaround from the P83 million loss for the same period last year.

Eton’s earnings, meanwhile, amounted to P197 million, higher than the P65 million reported a year earlier as rental income from its five BPO projects remains strong.