Zobel brothers in charge

DON’T get excited over the huge retained earnings reported in financial disclosures of listed companies. Because the amounts are based on consolidated financials, as public investors should have learned, not all are declarable as dividends either in cash or in stocks.

For instance, a filing posted on the website of the Philippine Stock Exchange listed the restrictions on the retained earnings of Ayala Corp. as follows: P29.82 billion in 2007 and P24.86 billion in 2006.