JG Summit Holding Inc., the flagship of the Gokongwei Group, is aiming to grow its profitability over the next quarters despite the challenging business environment.

“While we remain cautious given short term headwinds from elevated fuel prices, interest and forex rates, we continue to work hard to accelerate the recording or profits in succeeding quarters,” said JG Summit President Lance Gokongwei during the firm’s annual stockholders’ meeting. 

He added that, “With advancements across the group, we hope to remain ahead of the curve as we continue our commitment to providing our customers with better choices and create shared success with all our stakeholders.”

Gokongwei noted in particular their food and beverage unit Universal Robina Corporation (URC) which is constructing a mega plant in Malvar, Batangas, the first line of which is expected to be operational by the end of 2024. 

“This will cover both expansion and replacement capacities for URC,” Gokongwei told shareholders Monday. 

Meanwhile, he said Robinsons Land Corporation has opened the NuStar mall in 2023 and intends to open the Opus mall in Bridgetowne in Quezon City by July this year to be followed by Robinsons Pagadian. 

“We are further expanding NuStar hotel, adding new rooms in the fourth quarter of this year, as well as various logistics facilities,” he added. 

For Cebu Pacific, the group expects to grow its full-year capacity by 12 to 15 percent with the expected delivery of new aircraft, of which five have already been delivered as of the first quarter of this year.

“On our ecosystem play, our joint venture with DHL.  DHL Summit Solutions Inc. (DSSI) will be onboarding more customers outside the Gokongwei group after adding two new major customers in the first quarter,” Gokongwei said. 

On the other hand, JG Summit’s digital bank GoTyme continues to expand its product offerings such as SME lending and earned wage access. 

“And we are very excited about GoTyme shareholders recently acquiring SAVii which is the largest salary lender in the Philippines with a loan book of over P3 billion and more than 500,000 employees across 150 of the country's biggest corporations,” he said. 

JG Summit closed the first quarter with a profit of P12.6 billion, delivered on the back of an 18 percent rise in total revenues.