Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 6) — Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) booked a lower net income in the third quarter, attributed to losses in foreign currency trading.
The listed holding firm reported a ₱6.8-billion profit to the Philippine Stock Exchange for July-September, 6 percent lower than the ₱7.2 billion it made a year ago.
AEV said the profit slip came due to non-recurring losses of ₱234 million from foreign exchange, which is a reversal of the ₱60 million trading gains it made a year ago. Without this, Aboitiz said its core net income would only be down by 2 percent.
Aboitiz netted ₱15.7 billion from January to September, 9 percent lower than what it made during the same period in 2018, it said in a Wednesday disclosure. Currency trading losses pulled down the bottom line by ₱155 million.
AEV’s power unit contributed 60 percent of the conglomerate’s income, with Aboitiz Power Corporation bringing in ₱10.4 billion as of September. This is a fifth lower than last year due to slimmer profits from its generation and retail electricity supply businesses, as it produced lower capacity.
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AEV’s food subsidiaries under the Pilmico brand made ₱1 billion in the first nine months, down by nearly a third.
Meanwhile, its banking arm Union Bank of the Philippines saw profits surge by 40 percent to ₱8.5 billion with a broader asset base.
AboitizLand also realized bigger gains, with its net income doubling to ₱829 million as of end-September with valuation gains.
The Aboitiz-owned Republic Cement enjoyed the biggest surge in profits, which nearly tripled to ₱631 million amid better production costs and increased demand for infrastructure.
AEV’s total assets rose by 4 percent to ₱575.6 billion as of September, while liabilities stood at ₱365.5 billion.
