Filinvest net income rises 27%

FILINVEST Development Corp. (FDC) delivered a 27% increase in its net income attributable to the parent for the first quarter of 2018, driven mainly by its property unit and investments in the hospitality and leisure sector.
In a regulatory filing, the Gotianun-led holding firm said it booked an attributable profit of P1.95 billion in the first three months of the year, versus the P1.53 billion in the same period last year. Revenues went up 4.1% to P17.25 billion, with 46% coming from the property unit, 39% from banking, 11% from power, and 4% from sugar.
Revenues of Filinvest Land, Inc. (FLI) hit P6.33 billion during the quarter, up 7% year on year, leading to a 7% uptick in net income to P1.51 billion.
The listed property unit saw rental revenues grow 24% to P1.2 billion after opening new office and retail buildings last year. FLI now has 22 office buildings covering 348,000 square meters (sq.m.) in gross leasable area, with retail GLA at 239,000 sq.m. This places the company on track to achieve its target of 1.5 million sq.m. by 2022.
FDC’s property revenues also got a lift from the 21% net income growth in the hotel segment to P67.3 million. Its unit, Filinvest Hospitality Corp. (FHC), offers a total of 1,591 rooms across four properties carrying the Crimson and Quest brands.
FHC will be adding eight hotels offering a total of 1,700 rooms under its portfolio this year. Two Quest properties in Tagaytay and San Mateo will be managed by Chroma Hospitality, Inc. The company will also be unveiling the 192-room Crimson Resort and Spa Boracay, once the government finishes its six-month rehabilitation of Boracay island.
The listed conglomerate has also been ramping up its leisure portfolio through the 201-hectare Filinvest Mimosa + Leisure Estate, where it is set to develop a $200-million casino complex in Clark, Pampanga. The group has already secured a provisional license from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. for the casino, which will be surrounded by a lifestyle mall, a five-star hotel, and events venue.
EastWest Bank, meanwhile, saw its net income drop 16% to P920.9 million from the P1.2 billion posted in the same period last year, weighed down by lower contributions from its wholly owned unit, EastWest Rural Bank.
“While we expect 2018 to be a challenging year, mainly due to rising interest rates and higher inflation that could directly impact our customers, we are nonetheless bullish about future growth,” FDC Chairman Jonathan T. Gotianun said in a statement.
The banking unit is set to conduct a P50-billion stock rights offering by the second half of the year.
FDC noted its power unit, FDC Utilities, Inc., generated P290.3 million in net income with the increased demand for its 405-megawatt clean coal power plant in Misamis Oriental. This is against a net loss of P69.9 million in the same period last year. The company has partnered with global services provider PIC Marubeni for more coal plant projects in the country.
“Our interests in power and infrastructure can provide balance to our more cyclical property segments and banking businesses with steady and stable revenues from rental, power, sugar and infrastructure sectors. At the same time, investment in airport infrastructure will complement our hospitality and BPO projects in the country,” FDC President and Chief Executive Officer Josephine Gotianun-Yap said in a statement.
For investments in infrastructure, FDC is currently part of the “superconsortium,” which includes six other conglomerates, that aims to rehabilitate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and transform it into a regional airport hub in the ASEAN region.
The company will also be bidding for the operations and maintenance of Clark International Airport. — Arra B. Francia