JG Summit Cuts Net Losses on Strong Demand Growth

Conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc. said it recorded a consolidated net loss of 859 million pesos from January to September, less than the 2.4 billion pesos loss it suffered last year due to the impact of foreign exchange losses and other market value adjustments.

Net core income for this period reached 6.5 billion pesos, ten times more than 600 million pesos in the previous year, thanks to a significant improvement in the operating results of the consumer-facing business.

During this period, the company recorded a profit of 3.2 billion pesos from the sale of its 3.2 percent stake in Manila Electric Co. in July.

“Our core businesses in food, air travel, real estate and banking continue to benefit from sustained strong demand driven by growth in economic activity and mobility despite a high inflationary environment, while our petrochemicals business continues to suffer from a weaker export demand,” Lance. Hong Kong, the company’s president and CEO, said. “We have implemented incremental pricing strategies and cost management initiatives to mitigate the impact on our profit and loss. While we expect to end the year with stronger revenue growth, sustained in the fourth quarter, our stance on margin recovery remains cautious.”

Consolidated revenue rose 34 percent to 224.8 billion pesos over the period, with its key food, real estate and banking subsidiaries posting double-digit revenue growth, while its airline posted a strong recovery following the easing of travel restrictions. .

In the third quarter alone, the company’s revenue was 73.7 billion pesos, up 46% over the previous year.

Cebu Air Inc., which owns the Cebu Pacific airline, halved its losses to 12 billion pesos over the period as its profits continued to be hit hard by higher jet fuel prices and the devaluation of the peso during the quarter.

The number of pre-orders has increased as the year-end holidays approach, coupled with successful seat sales, the company said.

JG Summit Olefins Corp. had a net loss of 9 billion pesos for the period due to higher depreciation, interest rates and foreign exchange losses.

Revenue fell 4% to 26.2 billion pesos mainly due to lower sales of polymers. This was mitigated by fresh revenue from the sale of aromatics, butadiene and the LPG trade.

In May, the company was forced to close its cracking and downstream polymer production and extraction plants due to weak demand in both domestic and export markets, especially due to lengthy lockdowns in China and higher transportation costs.

These plants were restarted in August and September, although not at full capacity as supply and demand dynamics improve, but remain cautious due to lingering global recession sentiment.

Net income of Robinsons Bank Corp. rose 37 percent to 1.3 billion pesos, surpassing its earnings for all of 2021, while gross margin rose 11 percent to 7.7 billion pesos.

The company’s equity income rose 17% to 5.5 billion pesos, driven by continued growth in energy sales and higher earnings from the electricity generation business in Singapore.

These results already account for a decline in JG Summit’s ownership to 26.4% as of the third quarter, compared to 29.6% last year with the sale of shares in July.