Ayala Corporation reported a 75 percent fall in net income to P11.4 billion in the first nine months of the year but noted that its performance in the third quarter is much improved compared to the second quarter of 2020.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the conglomerate said earnings fell due to restricted construction activity and mall operations in Ayala Land since mid-March and by Bank of the Philippine Island’s aggressive loan loss provisions especially in the second quarter.
Profits were also weighed down by the base effect from divestment gains in power and education booked in the same period last year.
Ayala said its core businesses recorded lower net profits in the period ending September as a result of the health crisis.
Ayala Land’s net income decreased 73 percent to P6.4 billion as a result of lower project bookings from suspended construction activity, restricted mall and hotel operations, and closure of resorts.
BPI’s net income declined 22 percent to ₱17.2 billion due to the P21.1 billion in loan loss provisions it booked in anticipation of an increase in non-performing loan levels.
Globe Telecom’s net income contracted 10 percent to P15.9 billion, primarily driven by higher depreciation expenses from its continued network investments.
AC Energy recorded a net income of P5.6 billion, a decline from its year-ago level of P24.3 billion, which included gains from the partial divestment of its thermal assets.
However, Ayala President and COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala said “It is encouraging to see improvements in the performance of our businesses as the economy gradually reopens. Ayala Land, BPI, and AC Industrials have all shown a marked recovery in their third quarter results compared to the previous period.”
“Meanwhile, Globe and AC Energy are fairly stable components that have provided a boost in our portfolio in recent months. We are hoping to see this trajectory sustained in our businesses with a further loosening of restrictions,” Zobel added.
The improvement in mobility, business operations, and overall economic activity brought about by the gradual easing of quarantine protocols from March to September enabled Ayala’s subsidiaries to perform better on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
Ayala’s net income in the third quarter more than doubled to P3.4 billion compared to the previous quarter, mainly on improved performance of Ayala Land and AC Industrials, lower loan loss provisions booked by BPI, and the absence of re-measurement losses from Manila Water recognized in the second quarter.
Ayala Land’s net income accelerated to P1.8 billion from P200 million as mobility and sentiment improved while BPI’s net income improved four percent to P5.5 billion due to lower loan loss provisions.
However, Globe’s net income declined 11 percent to P4.4 billion despite healthy data revenues from its mobile and home broadband business on the back of heightened advertisement and promotions costs and non-operating expenses.
AC Energy’s net income decreased 54 percent to P1.1 billion mainly on the absence of revaluation gains on certain investments in the third quarter. AC Industrials significantly narrowed its net loss to P224 million from P1.3 billion the previous quarter as plant operations normalized across all regions and gross profit margin expanded as a result of better factory performance efficiencies.