Conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc. said Thursday its core profit jumped 29 percent year-on-year to P24.9 billion in 2024, lifted by one-time gain from the merger of Robinsons Bank and Bank of the Philippine Islands and double-digit growth in revenues.
Consolidated revenues increased 11 percent to P379.7 billion, on the back of robust demand for travel and leisure, higher sales volumes for the food and beverage business and the resumption of its petrochemical plant operations, JG Summit said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Thursday.
JG Summit said the P7.9-billion gain from the integration of Robinsons Bank with BPI more than offset headwinds including unfavorable polymer margins in its petrochemical business, the additional depreciation and interest expense from its airline’s fleet investments, and the sugar profit correction in its food and beverage arm.
Including non-core items such as mark-to-market and foreign exchange movements as well as losses from unplanned shutdowns and discontinued operations, net profit closed at P22 billion, up 10 percent year-on-year.
The group’s core businesses, however, delivered mixed results, as Cebu Air Inc and Universal Robina Corp. registered declines in net income in 2024.
Robinsons Land and core investments in Manila Electric Co. and Singapore Land delivered positive results.
JG Summit president Lance Gokongwei said he expects the company to focus on increasing revenue growth across all business units in 2025, given the expected rebound in consumer sentiment as inflation eases.
“We expect that the initiatives that were started in 2024 will start to bear fruit and gain momentum – namely the value for money offerings in URC, the additional aircraft deliveries that added capacity for Cebu Pacific, and the finished projects for RLC’s investment portfolio,” Gokongwei said.
“We are also very happy and optimistic on the trajectory of our ecosystem plays and partnerships – GoTyme, our digital banking arm which continues to acquire new accountholders, and DHL Summit Solutions, our supply chain and logistics play which has started venturing into new customers outside the group,” he said.
He expects the prolonged global downcycle in the petrochemicals industry to affect its petrochemical business.
The group’s petrochemical plants have been on indefinite shutdown since January this year to mitigate the losses amid the current landscape.
It also continues to evaluate various options to abate the adverse effects of the market conditions.