THE owner of Golden Arches Development Corp. (GADC), which holds the master franchise of McDonald’s fast-food restaurants in the Philippines, announced its net income grew at its historic high last year.
Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), the holding firm of businessman Andrew Tan, said on Friday the growth was driven by its main businesses from property development to gaming service to liquor business.
The company said it had a net income of P21 billion last year, an increase of about 8 percent from 2013. The amount excludes nonrecurring or extraordinary items.
Revenues also rose to P125 billion, from the previous year’s P123.4 billion.
“We feel elated and excited about our performance. The consistent robust performance of our group is underpinned by our commitment to focus on what we do best. Yes, we are always open to opportunities but our core businesses are borne out of passion, creativity and innovation. We are proud to say that we are game changers and brand builders. And we will constantly strive to raise the bar,” Kingson Sian, the company’s president and COO, said in a statement.
Net income attributable to shareholders, however, was down by 4 percent on a recurring basis to P13 billion.
This was due to net income attributable to minority interests or non-controlling interests increasing by as much as 35 percent year on year, the company said.
This increase was, in turn, a result of AGI reduction of ownership in Emperador Inc. and Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. last year following their initial public offerings (IPOs) in the latter part of 2013.
Prior to the IPOs, AGI had a 100-percent stake in Emperador and a 50-percent stake in Travellers. AGI’s other units include property developer Megaworld Corp.
On a standalone basis, the individual companies of AGI all delivered strong earnings last year. Megaworld reported a net income of P9.4 billion, up 14 percent year on year; Emperador delivered P6.2 billion in earnings, up 6 percent year on year; Travellers raked in P5.4 billion, almost double of its income from the previous year.
Meanwhile, GADC, which AGI owns 49 percent, posted a net income of almost P800 million in 2014.
“Our businesses are all compelling consumer plays,” Sian said. Megaworld claims to be the country’s pioneer township developments. Emperador, with its flagship brandy of the same name, has a 50-percent market share nationwide and as high as 72 percent in Greater Manila Area.
Travellers is currently the country’s most profitable tourism-entertainment and gaming company, and it is the only one that has two tourism-entertainment and gaming sites. GADC, on the other hand, opened more than 50 branches last year, the biggest number of openings in its history.