Ayala Corporation, the country’s oldest conglomerate, reported that its net profits rose 62 percent to P27.8 billion last year from the P17.1 billion earned in 2020.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Ayala said earnings growth was primarily driven by realized income from the execution of strategic initiatives in the group, boosted by the improved performance of Ayala Land and Bank of the Philippine Islands.
Ayala posted gains from executed transactions during the year, including the remeasurement of its stake in Manila Water following the sale of secondary shares to Trident Water, the sale of the Ayala group’s stake in GNPower Kauswagan, and the entry of a new investor in Mynt.
Excluding gains and other one-offs, Ayala’s core net income decreased 10 percent to P23.5 billion, mainly driven by weaker net interest income in BPI, higher depreciation expense in Globe Telecom, and reduced stake in ACEN following the completion of its capital market issuances and sale of secondary shares to GIC combined with higher financing cost taken up at the AC Energy parent level.
“We continue to see an improvement in the business environment with better mobility and ability of both enterprises and consumers to adjust to disruptions,” Ayala President and CEO Fernando Zobel de Ayala said.
He noted that, “With the recent de-escalation of quarantine measures to the lowest status, we are hopeful that 2022 will be the start of our country’s recovery.”
“The Ayala group aims to continue its investment programs and for 2022, we have allocated up to P285 billion in combined capital expenditure and investments to execute on the growth initiatives across our businesses,” Zobel said.
He added that, “We are, however, mindful of the impact of the Russia- Ukraine conflict on our recovery and investment programs. In particular, we are carefully monitoring how the surge in oil prices would affect domestic interest rates, inflation, and the global supply chain.”
Ayala’s businesses recorded higher net profits during the year with Ayala Land’s reporting a 40 percent hike in net income to P12.2 billion on the account of resilient operations, supported by relaxed quarantine restrictions in the fourth quarter of 2021.
BPI’s net income increased 12 percent to P23.9 billion because of lower loan loss provisions and record-high fee income.
Globe Telecom’s net income rose 27 percent to P23.7 billion from higher results from all data-related revenues, gain from the deemed sale of investment in Mynt, and the impact of the CREATE law.
ACEN’s net income increased 22 percent to P5.3 billion as robust earnings from its international assets supported softness in Philippine operations.