NEWS

By Pilar Manuel

DMCI Holdings saw its earnings surge in the first quarter of 2021, it reported to the local bourse on Tuesday.

The diversified engineering conglomerate disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange a net income of ₱4.3 billion from January to March, way up from the ₱616 million it reported the same period last year.

“We had a better-than-expected Q1 because of higher construction accomplishments and better coal sales,” Isidro Consunji, chairman and president of DMCI Holdings, stated in the disclosure.

“With the exception of Maynilad, all of our businesses also did very well,” he added.

Real estate arm DMCI Homes posted a ₱1.6 billion net income during the period, reversing the ₱197 million net loss it tallied the year prior, primarily attributing it to higher construction accomplishments and recognition of downpayment from new accounts.

Energy business Semirara Mining and Power also performed strongly in the first quarter of 2021. It contributed ₱1.3 billion to the conglomerate’s total earnings for the period, way up from the ₱623 million it remitted in 2020.

DMCI Mining, meanwhile, had a net income contribution of ₱415 million during the quarter from the ₱26 million it provided last year. This comes as the mining firm saw a “combined effect of higher production, shipment, nickel grade and average selling price.”

Higher construction accomplishments and minimal COVID-19-related expenses drove construction arm D.M. Consunji’s income to ₱342 million during the period from its ₱170 million figure from January to March 2020.

DMCI Power also supplied ₱118 million in its parent company’s total earnings, up from the ₱97 million it contributed in the same quarter in 2020 owing to higher electricity sales and lower fuel costs due to its 15-megawatt Masbate thermal plant operations.

Maynilad, however, remitted lower contributions at ₱287 million from the ₱379 million a year ago as the water concessionaire dealt with weaken billed volume due to quarantine restrictions and its average effective tariff.

“Our performance in the next quarters will largely depend on how the prices of coal, nickel and electricity will hold up,” said Consunji. “We also expect some operational headwinds for SMPC given the abnormal water seepages at Molave North Block 7 and the forced plant outages.”

DMCI Holdings shares closed at ₱5.42 apiece on Tuesday, up 0.37% from yesterday’s close.

Fellow listed conglomerate LT Group also saw earnings go up during the first quarter of 2021.

In a separate disclosure, the Tan-led company reported ₱6.49 billion in attributable net income. This is equal to a 4.5% increase from its earnings during the same period in 2020.

The Philippine National Bank earned ₱1.83 billion in the first three months of the year under the pooling method, higher than the ₱455 million it raked in last year. LT Group cited its lower provisions for credit losses for the period.

Tanduay Distillers also saw net income rise to ₱235 million from the ₱199 million from January to March 2020 with the 5% jump in liquor sale volume and higher “rectified” alcohol sales. Asia Brewery likewise logged higher earnings at ₱211 million, from last year’s ₱74 million.

This is “largely due to the absence of losses from the AB Heineken joint venture as the partnership transitions starting 2021 to the engagement of ABI to brew and distribute Heineken® and Tiger® beers in the Philippines,” said the conglomerate.

LT Group’s tobacco business logged a net income of ₱5.03 billion in the first quarter of 2021, higher from the ₱5.01 billion it posted a year ago.

Eton Properties Philippines, meanwhile, saw earnings fall to ₱150 million during the period from last year’s ₱169 million. LT Group attributed this to the drop in residential unit sales and lower leasing income.

Stocks of LT Group also closed higher on Tuesday at ₱13 apiece, 0.78% higher than Monday’s close.

Source: CNN Philippines