Filinvest Development Corp., the holding company of the Gotianun family, said first-half net income climbed 24 percent to P7.2 billion from a year ago on the strong performance of the banking, real estate and sugar businesses.
FDC said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it achieved the strong net income growth despite the coronavirus pandemic and the 4-percent decline in consolidated revenues to P40.6 billion.
“The continuing rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country and the absence of a vaccine to curb the spread of the virus sets a lot of uncertainties to this day. The events continue to unfold, but we have also learned to adjust in order to lessen the impact of the disruptions brought about by the pandemic,” FDC president and chief executive Lourdes Josephine Yap said.
“We are pleased with our robust results in the first half of 2020, but we remain cognizant of the risks of a prolonged quarantine period and are doing measures to mitigate its negative impact,” Yap said.
Banking unit EastWest Bank delivered a net income contribution of P4.3 billion in the first half, up by 60 percent from the same period last year. The growth was driven by better margins from its core lending and deposit-taking businesses and higher trading gains.
The group’s real estate business composed of listed subsidiary Filinvest Land Inc. and Filinvest Alabang Inc. contributed P4.6 billion in net income to the group, up eight percent from the first half of 2019.
The improvement was boosted by the income recognition amounting to P2.9 billion of the transaction between FAI and Mitsubishi Corp. in October last year for the joint development of 17,000 square meters of prime land across Festival Mall in Filinvest City, Alabang.
Power subsidiary FDC Utilities Inc. registered a net income of P996 million, down 10 percent from the same period last year.
Revenues declined by 21 percent to P4.2 billion as volume dropped 25 percent following the contraction in the demand from customers amid the implementation of community quarantine.
Sugar operations through Pacific Sugar Holdings Corp. contributed P310 million to FDC’s net income in the first half, up by 19 percent year-on-year.
Hotel operations under Filinvest Hospitality Corp. reported a loss of P298 million in the first half as the hospitality business was affected by foreign travel restrictions and quarantine measures.
The group operates 1,800 rooms under the Crimson and Quest brands.