Combined net earnings of listed companies at the Philippine Stock Exchange increased 17.8 percent in 2016 to a record P683.3 billion from P580.15 billion in 2015, on better performance of business segments and lower operating costs.
Data from PSE showed the 2016 figure was the highest consolidated net income of listed companies since the local bourse started tracking the cumulative profit of listed firms.
Combined corporate revenues of listed firms also rose 6.6 percent to P7.29 trillion last year from P6.84 trillion posted in 2015.
Total net profits of the 30 companies comprising the PSE index went up 12.1 percent to P472.93 billion. PSEi member firms also accounted for 69.2 percent of the total market’s net profit.
“We are hopeful that the profitability shown by listed companies in 2016 will be sustained through 2017. We believe that the growth story of the country is very much intact and this should continue to attract investors into our stock market,” said PSE president Ramon Monzon.
PSE said all sectors posted higher net profits in 2016 with the the services sector showing the biggest gain of 34.7 percent to P93.60 billion on robust revenues from constituent companies.
The aggregate net income of mining and oil firms climbed 21.7 percent to P13.91 billion, on higher revenues and better gold prices while companies in the industrial sector saw a 19.9-percent increase in net income to P156.93 billion, mostly on lower operating expenses and improved sales.
Combined profit of holding firms also increased 19 percent in 2016 to P212.68 billion on higher income from business units while the consolidated net income of banks and other financial services companies reached P114.38 billion, up by12.3 percent from a year ago.
Companies in the property sector registered a 4.5-percent growth in net profit on higher real estate sales and rental income.
Meanwhile, the PSE also reported a robust 27.8-percent increase in online stock market accounts to 302,516 from 236,669 in 2015.
“Technology has played a big role in the growth of our investor base over the years. We are pleased to see that more Filipinos have continued to adopt online trading to invest in the stock market,” Monzon said.
PSE said the continued growth in online accounts translated into higher trading activity.
About 53.7 percent of total market transactions, measured in terms of number of trades, were accounted for by online accounts in 2016. This was the first year that online transactions were responsible for more than half of the market’s total transactions.
Online trades registered a 41.4-percent growth in value turnover, which translated into a 9.3-percent share in the market’s total value turnover.
