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By Darwin G. Amojelar Reporter
Net income of the Gokongwei
family’s JG Summit Holdings Inc. dropped in the first quarter of
the year, citing the weakening peso and volatile capital markets as
reasons in a statement Friday.
JG Summit reported its profits
went down by 61 percent to P675.8 million from P1.74 billion in the
same period last year despite the strong performance of all its
business units in increasing its consolidated revenues.
Its consolidated revenues rose
10.5 percent to P22.11 billion in the first three months of the year
from P20 billion in the same quarter last year.
Revenues of Cebu Pacific, its
airline business, rose to P4.24 billion, a 32.6-percent increase
over last year’s P3.19 billion brought about by additional routes
and flights. However, the airline posted a net income lower than in
the same period last year owing to foreign exchange loss—to
P389.23 million in first quarter from P559.85 million in January to
March 2007.
The company’s telecom unit
Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. recorded a net loss of
P882.1 million in the first quarter of the year, higher than P440.4
million in the same period last year. Digitel attributed its losses
to the net foreign exchange loss of P341.1 million recognized during
the quarter compared with P449.1 million of gains in the same period
last year. The company’s consolidated service and non-service
revenues for the three-month ended March rose 21.6 percent to P2.4
billion.
The company attributed the lower
profit to the recognition of foreign exchange translation loss this
year as a result of a stronger peso and mark-to-market loss in bond
holdings following the general drop in bond prices worldwide and
higher taxes.
JG Summit Petrochemicals
Corp.‘s net loss during the quarter amounted to P36 million from
P165.93 million in the same period last year. Its revenue for the
first three months went up to P2.02 billion from P566.64 million
last year as a result of higher sales volume from 7,724 metric tons
(MT) last year to 31,166 MT this year.
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