ABS-CBNnews.com

Posted at 03/14/2012 11:57 AM | Updated as of 03/14/2012 4:22 PM

MANILA, Philippines – Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings posted P21.59 billion in net income in 2011, boosted by the sale of its telecommunications business.

In a statement, JG Summit said its unaudited net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company hit a record level of P21.59 billion in 2011, 32% jump from 2010’s P16.32 billion. This was attributed mostly to the sale of its stake in Digital Telecommunications Philippines (Digitel) to Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, which amounted to P13 billion.

Profits from continued operations declined by 45% to P8.56 billion from P15.57 billion in the previous year. JG Summit blamed the drop to high input costs, foreign exchange movements and volatility in the capital markets.

JG Summit’s core earnings before taxes, excluding the one-time gains from the Digitel sale, the effects of foreign exchange and market
valuation losses, fell by 9% to P16.27 billion in 2011.

The Gokongwei-led conglomerate posted P122.9 billion in consolidated revenues, a 17% growth from the previous year.

The company’s consolidated EBITDA (operating income adding back depreciation and amortization) also fell by 11% to P25.2 billion in 2011, mainly because of the high commodity prices that adversely affected profits at Universal Robina Corporation (URC) and Cebu Air, Inc. (Cebu Pacific).

URC, the biggest contributor to JG Summit’s revenues, saw a 41% decline in net income attributable to equity holders of the parent to P4.64 billion, from P7.82 billion in 2010.

Leading budget airline Cebu Pacific also posted a 47% drop in net income to P3.62 billion in 2011 from P6.92 billion in the previous year.  The sharp increase in average aviation fuel prices caused costs and operating expenses to grow at a faster rate than revenue growth, which affected Cebu Pacific’s bottomline.

Property development arm Robinsons Land Corp. reported an 11% increase in net income to P3.97 billion for its fiscal year ending September 30, 2011.

JG Summit Petrochemicals Corp. saw its 2011 net loss widen to P384 million from a net loss of P102 million in 2010, due to inventory write-offs and high prices of bunker fuel.

Robinsons Bank Corp.  posted net earnings of P368 million in 2011, 23% higher than the previous year. The higher earnings were attributed to strong interest income and trading gains.