|
LOWER
capital gains and equity earnings from key operating
units triggered the slow down in Ayala Corp.’s (AC)
consolidated net income for the first half to P6.3
billion from P11.5 billion in the same period a year
ago.
In a
statement Monday, the Philippines’ oldest conglomerate
said it booked P2.7 billion in capital gains from the
sale of 3.8 million common shares in Globe. The gains
realized were substantially lower than the P7-billion
gain booked in the first half of last year.
Equity
earnings from operating units fell 23 percent as net
income of several operating units softened amidst a
challenging economic environment. “The pressures of
rising oil and commodity prices and tightening credit
globally have created a much more challenging operating
environment,” said president and chief operating officer
Fernando Zobel de Ayala.
“But
while earnings have been under some pressure this year,
we continue to see strong underlying demand in each of
our key businesses, particularly in real estate,
consumer and corporate loans, telecom services, auto
sales and electronics.”
For the
second quarter alone, the group recorded a net income of
P3.7 billion, 38-percent lower than what it made in the
second quarter of 2007.
AC holds
interest in Ayala Land, Globe Telecom, Bank of the
Philippine Islands, Manila Water, AC Capital, among
others.
Its
chairman, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, said the group
expects operating conditions to remain challenging for
the remainder of the year and into early next year due
to pressures from higher inflation and interest rates.
“However, we believe the fundamentals of each of our
businesses remains solid and we are optimistic that as
global markets adjust and normalize, we are
well-positioned, given the group’s scale and financial
and market strengths, to achieve our growth targets and
value creation objectives,” he said. |
