Listed firms post 10% profit drop in 9-mo

MANILA, Philippines – The economic crisis in the west caught up with local companies in the first nine months of 2011, the financial performance of listed firms showed.

The Philippine Stock Exchange said on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, that 235 publicly held companies reported profits of P308.9 billion, a 10% drop from the same period in 2010.

This despite an aggregate 15.4% increase in their revenues to P2.78 trillion, led by financial, property, and mining companies.
 
“While it’s good to note that revenues of our listed firms continue to improve, their net incomes had to contend with the challenges in the economy such as rising production costs and lower-than-expected demand,” PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Hans B. Sicat said in the statement.

However, Sicat said there were still bright spots during the January to September period, including:

Mining sector:
Philex Mining Corp. – 102.9% increase in net income (due to 50.7% increase in revenues from gold and 17.3% in copper)
Semirara Mining Corp. – 10% increase in sales (due to 33.2% higher average coal prices)
Nickel Asia Corp. – 131.9% increase in net income

Property sector:
Megaworld Corp. – 62% increase in net income
SM Development Corp. – 51% increase
Ayala Land Inc. – 32.9% increase

The following pulled down the overall performance of the listed firms during the period:

Industrial sector:
First Philippine Holdings Corp. – 97.4% decrease in net income (due to one time gains in 2010)
San Miguel Brewery – 23% decrease (due to one time gains in 2010)
Energy Dev’t Corp. – 109.4% decrease (lower spot trading rates) 
Aboitiz Power Corp. – 12.4% decrease (lower spot trading rates) 

Services sector:
Philippine Airlines (PAL) – 168.1% or P5.66 billion decrease in net income (due to volatile exchange rates)
Cebu Air Inc. – 54% decrease in net income (due to 44.1% jump in average aviation fuel prices)
PLDT – 4.37% or P1.37 billion decrease in net income (due to lower volume of calls)

Holding firms:
Lopez Holdings Corp. – 73% or P9.52 billion decrease in net income (due to lower income of FPH and ABS-CBN)
JG Summit Holdings Inc. – 40% decrease in net income (due to Cebu Pacific’s IPO proceeds in 2010)

– Rappler.com