Bank merger fueled threefold gain in JG Summit’s 1st quarter bottom line

Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings Inc. more than tripled its first-quarter income to P12.6 billion as businesses recorded strong results, alongside one-time gain from the merger of its banking unit with Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).

January to March revenues also went up by 18 percent to P96.7 billion, mainly due to higher plant utilization of petrochemical unit JG Summit Olefins Corp. (JGSOC) and a strong demand for international flights via Cebu Air Inc.

“We kicked off 2024 with sustained improvements across our businesses, seeing robust sales volumes in our petrochemical and food businesses, as well as strong demand for air travel, leisure and hospitality services,” JG Summit president and CEO Lance Gokongwei said in a statement on Wednesday.

The net income of the conglomerate was likewise lifted by a P7.9-billion extraordinary gain from the merger of Robinsons Bank with Ayala-led BPI.

Despite a 65-percent surge in revenues to P14.1 billion, JGSOC’s bottom line “felt downward pressure” from higher interest expense, depreciation and foreign exchange losses.

This widened its net loss to P3.3 billion from P2.7 billion in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the food business through Universal Robina Corp. booked a 7-percent rise in its top line to P42.6 billion. Earnings grew by 21 percent to P4.1 billion.

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Real estate unit Robinsons Land Corp. likewise saw profits jump by 22 percent to P3.3 billion. Revenues increased by 18 percent to P10.5 billion.

Sustained travel demand buoyed the revenues of budget carrier Cebu Pacific by a fifth to P25.3 billion, while net income surged by 54 percent to P1.8 billion (See related story on B3).

“Looking ahead, we continue to work on growing our airline’s capacity to serve the gradual uptick in demand, driving volume-based growth in our food and beverage business, sustaining the momentum in our property unit, and accelerating the transformation program of our petrochemicals arm,” Gokongwei said.