LT Group Inc., the holding firm of most businesses of tycoon Lucio Tan, said it had an attributable net income of P6.53 billion for the first three months of the year, a slight increase from last year’s P6.49 billion.
The tobacco business accounted for P4.21 billion or 64 percent of total, followed by Philippine National Bank (PNB), which contributed P1.61 billion or 25 percent. Liquor maker Tanduay Distillers Inc. added P330 million or 5 percent of total while Eton Properties Philippines Inc. contributed P127 million or 2 percent, Asia Brewery Inc. accounted for P80 million or 1 percent.
The company’s 30.9-percent stake in Victorias Milling Co. Inc. added P111 million or 2 percent of the total, while LT Group parent also booked a net income of P65 million.
In March, the company declared dividends amounting to P0.30 per share, regular and special, or P3.24 billion, which was paid on April 12. This is equivalent to 16 percent of the company’s 2021 attributable net income.
Publicly-listed PNB’s net income under the pooling method was P2.86 billion for the first quarter, 57 percent higher than last year’s P1.83 billion.
Net interest income was P288 million or 3 percent higher at P8.53 billion, while net service fees and commission income were 3 percent lower to P1.25 billion from last year’s P1.29 billion.
Despite the higher volume, the tobacco business reported a net income of P4.22 billion for the first three months of 2022, 16 percent lower than the P5.02 billion last year.
“There was no price increase implemented in 2021 and most of first quarter, with the previous one in October 2020, so the lower profit can be attributed to the P5 increase in excise taxes that PMFTC had to absorb starting January 1, 2022,” the company said.
PMFTC is the combined company of Philip Morris Philippines and Tan’s Fortune Tobacco.
The industry’s volume was estimated at 15.6 billion sticks, 19 percent higher over the same period last year, primarily due to the easing of Covid-19-related restrictions, the company said.
Tanduay’s net profit, meanwhile, rose 42 percent to P333 million from last year’s P235 million. Liquor volume was slightly higher while bioethanol volume had a higher growth of over 60 percent.
As of end-March, Tanduay’s nationwide market share for distilled spirits was at 30.2 percent, up from last year’s 26.5 percent. In the Visayas and Mindanao regions where most of Tanduay’s sales are generated, market share was at 70.3 percent and 80.1 percent, respectively, both a little higher than the previous year.
Eton reported a bottom line of P128 million, 15 percent lower than last year’s P150 million.
Eton currently has a leasing portfolio of 237,000 square meters
Asia Brewery had a profit of P80 million, 62 percent lower than the P211 million last year.
Despite the higher volumes for its products, higher raw material, fuel and other costs resulted in lower profits, the company said.