Alliance Global net income for 2017 stalls on Resorts World attack

MANILA, Philippines – Tycoon Andrew Tan’s holding firm, Alliance Global Incorporated (AGI), saw its net income fall slightly in 2017 as gains from property development and fast-food operations were tempered by a big loss from casino operations.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Thursday, April 5, AGI reported a full-year 2017 net income of P21.8 billion, down from the P22.8 billion in 2016.

Net income attributable to common shareholders hit P14.9 billion, little changed from its year-ago level.

“Adding back non-recurring items, net income should show some 4% improvement to P15.2 billion,” AGI said in its disclosure.

AGI’s consolidated revenues for 2017 went up slightly to P141.8 billion, as strong results from its real estate operations and quick service restaurants business cushioned the weakness in its gaming and leisure operations, as well as the modest rise in liquor sales.

“2017 has been a rather challenging year for the group but that never deterred us from pursuing our growth ambitions. As we move forward, we remain focused on investing in our future. We have in fact spent close to P70 billion during the year for our ongoing expansion plans,” AGI president Kingson Sian said in a statement.

AGI subsidiary Travellers International Hotel Group Incorporated, the owner and operator of Resorts World Manila, saw its 2017 net income drop by nearly 93% to P241.7 million in 2017 from P3.4 billion in 2016, in the aftermath of a lone gunman’s attack.

“2018 will be a hectic year for Resorts World Manila as we expect to launch a new hotel each quarter up to the end of the year,” said Sian, who is also president of Travellers.

Megaworld Corporation, AGI’s property unit, saw its net income attributable to parent company grow by 12.7% to P12.8 billion in 2017 compared to the P11.3 billion in 2016.

Emperador Incorporated, meanwhile, saw its net income drop to P6.3 billion in 2017 from P7.69 billion in 2016, due to increased costs of goods sold, higher marketing expenses, and unrealized foreign currency losses.

Golden Arches Development Corporation, the operator of McDonald’s in the Philippines, saw net income grow by 33% to P1.6 billion as sales revenues rose 12% to P25.5 billion. This was boosted by 5.8% systemwide same-store-sales growth and ongoing store expansion.

“For this year, we are allocating capital expenditure of P80 billion as we continue to invest for growth in order to future-proof our business. About 75% of said amount will go to Megaworld, mainly for its development and investment property projects, which should allow it to sustain its healthy earnings growth moving forward,” Sian said.

“Another 15% of capital expenditure will be spent by Travellers to complete its Grand Wing (Phase 3) development which should boost its hotel and overall gaming capacity,” he added. – Rappler.com