Ayala Corp. reports 56% profit growth in first half

Ayala Corporation reported a 56 percent hike in net income to P16.3 billion in the first semester of 2022 due to the strong performance of Bank of the Philippine Islands, Ayala Land Inc., and Globe Telecom, according to a report by ABS-CBN.

BPI’s net income expanded 73 percent to P20.4 billion in the first semester due to robust loan growth, higher net interest margins, and lower loan loss provisions, boosted by a gain from a sale of a property.

Ayala Land’s net income jumped 34 percent to P8.1 billion in the first half due to improved operations of its various business segments in the second quarter as local economic activity progressed.

Globe’s net income increased 51 percent to P19.7 billion in the first half due to higher revenues from data services and growth from non-telco revenues as well as a net gain from the partial sale of its data center business.

These mitigated softer results from AC Energy & Infrastructure Corp. whose earnings decreased 23 percent to P2.7 billion in the first semester of 2022 as a combined effect of Ayala’s consolidation of its reduced ownership in ACEN, various one-offs incurred in the first quarter of the year, and impact of its divestment in GNPK in 2021.

“Our group’s performance in the first half reflects the momentum of the country’s reopening,” Ayala President and CEO Fernando Zobel de Ayala said.

He noted that, “This is particularly evident in our cyclical units, Ayala Land and BPI, which significantly rebounded in the second quarter amid revitalized mobility and consumer confidence.” “However, Ayala is cognizant of the current macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our businesses in varying degrees. While this is the case, we believe that there is still growth to be realized for the rest of the year with what we are seeing on the ground,” Zobel added.

Meanwhile, Ayala executed another round of share block purchase, equivalent to an additional 3.2 percent economic stake in Ayala Land to boost its interest to a total of 50.5 percent of the real estate giant.

On August 9 and August 12, 2022, Ayala purchased 468,672,400 common shares of Ayala Land at a price of P25.20 per share amounting to P11.82 billion.

“This transaction reflects our continued optimism on Ayala Land’s growth trajectory. We believe that its current share price presents deep value and significant upside in the long term,” said Zobel.

He added that, “With a stronger economic position in Ayala Land, we believe that this transaction benefits the long-term interest of Ayala’s shareholders.”