By Leslie D. Venzon
MANILA, Aug. 13 (PNA) — Philippine conglomerate Ayala Corp. grew its 2015 first-semester profit by six percent, driven mainly by the double-digit growth in its telecommunication, real estate, banking and electronics businesses.
Ayala Corp. reported to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) its net income reached PhP 10.6 billion in January to June from PhP 1 billion during the same period last year.
Excluding the previous year’s divestment gains from the sale of Stream Global Services, Ayala’s business process outsourcing unit, Ayala’s net income in the first semester grew 31 percent.
“Our earnings continue to grow at a strong pace in step with the overall performance of our business units. As demand drivers remain upbeat, and as our investments in power come on stream, we believe this strong growth will continue throughout the year,” Ayala president and chief operating officer Fernando Zobel de Ayala said.
As its core businesses grow, Zobel said the company continues to seek new areas to invest in.
“We are developing new platforms in the healthcare and education spaces. We believe these two sectors present excellent opportunities for growth and scale,” he added.
Ayala Land’s net income expanded 19 percent to PhP 8.4 billion, lifted by the upbeat performance of its property development and commercial leasing operations.
As its core banking business continued to drive growth, revenues of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) expanded 12 percent to PhP 29 billion on higher net interest income and non-interest income. (PNA)