JG SUMMIT (JGS) shares gained last week after the company reported a sharp rise in second-quarter (Q2) earnings on the back of growth in its core subsidiaries, analysts said.
Data from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) showed that JG Summit was the 12th most traded stock of the week, with 39.52 million shares worth P974.95 million changing hands by Friday.
JG Summit’s share price closed at P24.80 at the end of the trading week, up 7.8% from P23 the previous Friday. The uptick outperformed the 1.1% increase of the holding firm index and the 0.4% decline of the PSE index week on week.
Since the start of the year, JG Summit’s stock price has risen by 20.7% from P20.55 at the last trading day of 2024.
Jasper Timoteo A. Ondap, equity analyst at Regina Capital Development Corp., said in a Viber message that the company’s earnings announcement fueled the stock’s movement for the week.
In an Aug. 12 disclosure, JG Summit reported second-quarter attributable net income of P10.65 billion, up 175.3% from P3.87 billion a year earlier.
Consolidated revenues also increased by 5% to P95.85 billion from P91.26 billion in the same period.
“This was something [that], at least the market, accepted very positively reflected on its [almost] 6% increase,” he said.
Mr. Ondap added that growth in the conglomerate’s core units — Cebu Pacific (CEB), Universal Robina Corp. (URC), and Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) — drove its quarterly earnings.
For the first half, CEB reported net income of P8.5 billion, higher than the P1.31 billion in 2024, boosted by strong passenger revenues from more flights and increased seating capacity.
URC and RLC also posted higher sales for the period at P85.89 billion (from P80.75 billion) and P11.02 billion (from P10.75 billion), respectively, due to growth in key business segments.
“The company has been streamlining its portfolio by closing underperforming businesses, such as its petrochemical unit, and is now focusing on its core strengths while pursuing expansion in those areas,” Mercantile Securities Corp. Head Trader Jeff Radley C. See said in an e-mail.
On May 16, the company announced the two-year shutdown of its petrochemical arm, JG Summit Olefins Corp., due to industry and market challenges.
The move was aimed at accelerating growth for the conglomerate in the coming quarters.
“JGS is showing good fundamentals and performance for the period, quite reflected on its stock price this week,” Mr. Ondap said.
Mr. See added that investors expect the company’s momentum to continue through the rest of the year and possibly surpass last year’s earnings.
For the next trading sessions, Mr. Ondap said the stock is “due for a correction” after reaching overbought levels last week.
“There might be profit taking to ensue after reaching these high levels, but still quite difficult to see where it goes especially with a liquidity event, like rebalancing, to happen,” he added.
Mr. See added that the stock “might pull back and visit its support levels in the short term,” but the overall trend remains bullish.
For this week, Mr. Ondap placed support levels at the P24-P23.50 range and resistance levels at P25-26.
Mr. See pegged support at P23 and P21.40 and resistance at P25.40 and P28.40. — Matthew Miguel L. Castillo
