Gokongwei’s JG Summit nets P15B in first half

Manila, Philippines – JG Summit Holdings, Inc. (JGS), the listed conglomerate of the Gokongwei group, has booked P15 billion in profit in the first half, as its subsidiaries delivered results while tapering losses from its petrochemical business after a decision to shut it down earlier this year.

“For 1H25, net income remained steady at Php15.0 billion as the strong core performance, engine gains plus non-core forex and mark-to-market movements this year offset the absence of last year’s bank merger gains,” JGS said in a stock exchange filing on Monday.

For the second quarter alone, the conglomerate grew its bottom line by an annual 175 percent to P10.7 billion, largely in line with core profits.

Consolidated sales rose 3 percent to P194 billion for the January to June period. From April to June alone, revenues rose by 5 percent year on year to P95.9 billion.

“This was supported by robust leisure demand benefiting its airline and property businesses, alongside the sustained domestic consumption seen by its food & beverage arm,” the company disclosure read.

“These more than made up for the expected decline in petrochemical sales given the plant shutdown which began early this year,” it added.

Excluding the petrochemical business, JGS’ second-quarter topline climbed 14 percent and 12 percent for the first half.

“We continue to see sustained topline performance from our core business units as we benefit from improving consumer sentiment driven by easing inflation,” the disclosure quoted JGS President and CEO Lance Y. Gokongwei as saying.

“This growth has trickled down to improving core earnings, further helped by the lower losses from the shutdown of our Petrochemicals facility. We also expect higher dividends this year coming from our core units and investments,” he added.

The conglomerate’s food manufacturing business, Universal Robina Corporation (URC), posted an annual 6 percent revenue growth to P85.9 billion in the first half, driven by healthy volume expansion in most of its branded consumer food categories, its Malaysia and Indonesia markets, as well as its sugar division.

URC’s domestic operations saw double-digit volume growth in snacks and beverages, while its powdered coffee business showed early signs of market share stabilization.

“Internationally, market shares continued to strengthen, and its Flour division remains focused on ramping up the utilization of its Sariaya flour mill for the balance of the year. However, the Animal Nutrition and Health division saw challenges due to the ASF outbreak, which dampened Hog Feeds demand, and downtrading, which affected the Pet Food market,” it said.

JGS’ real estate company Robinsons Land Corporation, meanwhile, saw profit climb by an annual 11 percent to P22.2 billion for the first half, on the back of continued investment portfolio growth being supported by higher revenues from high-value residential projects and strong ready-for-occupancy unit sales.

Lower interest rates aided profit, it said, while mall and office occupancy rates improved quarter-on-quarter to 94 percent and 87 percent, respectively.

Listed airline Cebu Air, Inc. reported a 23 percent year-on-year increase in sales to P63.3 billion for the January to June period, owing to a 21 percent boost in passenger volumes and 43 percent increase in cargo.

Cebu Pacific now has over 56 percent share in the domestic market, and 23 percent share in international, JGS said in announcing its earnings results.

It opened 30 new routes this year and expanded its non-Manila hub seats by 48 percent.

Business News Anchor Lois Calderon contributed to this story.