AEV profit drops on asset impairment

MANILA, Philippines — Non-recurring losses related mostly to an asset impairment weighed down earnings of conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV) in 2024.

AEV’s net income declined by 23 percent to P18.1 billion in 2024 from P23.5 billion in 2023 after factoring in P7.4 billion of non-recurring net losses, primarily from a P7.5-billion impairment on Republic Cement & Building Materials Inc.

Core net income, however, rose by 15 percent to P25.5 billion last year from P22.1 billion in the previous year.

In the fourth quarter alone, core profit jumped by 39 percent to P6.7 billion from P4.8 billion in the same quarter in 2023.

On a core net income basis, the power business contributed 59 percent of AEV’s consolidated net income in 2024, while the financial services as well as the food and beverage segments each accounted for 20 percent.

Aboitiz Power Corp’s. net income contribution to AEV stood at P18 billion, a four-percent improvement from the 17.3 billion posted in 2023.

Higher generation portfolio margins and energy sales from the distribution utility business fueled a 13 percent year-on-year increase in AboitizPower’s beneficial EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) to P73.3 billion.

Net income contribution from Union Bank of the Philippines to AEV, meanwhile, jumped by 32 percent to P6 billion in 2024 from the previous year’s P4.5 billion.

UnionBank’s net income on a stand-alone basis of surged by 31 percent year-on-year to P12 billion as core operations remained strong, with revenues increasing by 12 percent to P79.5 billion.

The food and beverage segment, which includes Pilmico Foods Corp., Pilmico Animal Nutrition Corp., Pilmico International Pte. Ltd. and Coca-Cola Europacific Aboitiz Philippines Inc. (CCEAP), delivered a net income contribution of P5.9 billion last year, which was more than four times the P1.3 billion registered in 2023.