EARNINGS of GT Capital Holdings, Inc. (GT Capital) surged 54% to P20.31 billion in 2019, driven mostly by gains from the redemption of its shares in real estate subsidiary Property Company of Friends, Inc. (PCFI).
In a presentation to stockholders on its website, the Ty-led conglomerate said its growth last year was supported by double-digit expansions across its business units.
GT Capital saw a P3.58 billion total income from the redemption of its investment in PCFI. Minus this and the P1.28 billion share in the non-recurring gain of its stake in Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), and adding the P330 million amortization of fair value adjustments, GT Capital’s core net income last year is 22% higher at P15.78 billion.
The company’s total revenues grew 8% to P222.9 billion, largely driven by its banking and automotive segments.
By business units, banking unit Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) added the biggest chunk to the pie with a net income contribution of P28.06 billion, up 28% from a year ago.
In a regulatory filing, GT Capital attributed the growth of Metrobank to the expansion of net interest margin to 3.84%, strong trading and forex gains, and a 6.7% growth in loans and receivables.
Automotive unit Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP) booked the second biggest net income contribution at P9.08 billion, higher by 15% from a year ago. The increase was traced to a 6% revenue growth to P168.62 billion, primarily due to larger sales volume, price increases and higher export and spare parts profit.
The company’s stake in MPIC generated P23.86 billion in net income contribution, a 69% jump from the previous year. This is due to revenue increases in MPIC’s energy, toll roads and hospital businesses.
Property unit Federal Land, Inc. (FLI) booked a net income of P1.61 billion, 56% up from a year ago. This is largely due to “higher revenues arising from faster percentage-of-completion coupled with lower cost adjustments.”
Life and non-life insurance unit Philippine AXA Life Insurance Corp. recorded a net income growth of 23% to P2.37 billion, which it said was due to the improvement in premium margins, increase in asset management fees and higher investment income.
For 2020, GT Capital is allocating P28.5-30.5 billion for capital expenditures, to be sourced from a mix of internally generated funds and debts.
Metrobank will take P3-5 billion for information technology (IT) investments. FLI will have P7.4 billion for land banking, project development and IT investments. TMP will get P4.9 billion for the introduction of a new model, upgrading of specs and special projects. AXA will have P300 million for refurbishments, computer and IT upgrade, and office equipment.
The parent company will have P12 billion for acquisitions and other investments. The remainder will be divided among Toyota Manila Bay Corp., Toyota Financial Services Philippines Corp. and Sumisho Motor Finance Corp.
Shares in GT Capital at the stock exchange increased 17 centavos or 4.36% to P407 each yesterday. — Denise A. Valdez
