LT Group posts P6.5-B Q1 profit

LT Group, Inc. (LTG) reported a slight uptick in attributable net income to P6.53 billion in the first three months of 2022 from the P6.49 billion earned in the first quarter last year.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said its tobacco business accounted for P4.21 billion or 64 percent of total attributable income as Philippine National Bank (PNB) contributed P1.61 billion or 25 percent.

Tanduay Distillers, Inc. (TDI) added P330 million or 5 percent of total while Eton Properties Philippines, Inc. contributed P127 million or 2 percent.

Asia Brewery, Inc. (ABI) accounted for P80 million or 1 percent while LTG’s 30.9 percent stake in Victorias Milling Company, Inc. (VMC) added P111 million or 2 percent of total.

At the parent company level, LTG also booked net other income of P65 million or 1 percent of total income.

Last March, LTG declared a total of P0.30 per share dividends, regular and special, or P3.25 billion, which was paid on April 12. This is equivalent to 16.0 percent of its 2021 attributable net income.

PNB’s net income under the pooling method was P2.86 billion for the first quarter of 2022, 57 percent higher than the P1.83 billion in the same period last year.

Despite the 19 percent growth in the tobacco industry’s volume to 15.6 billion sticks, LTG’s tobacco business reported a 16 percent drop in net income to P4.22 billion for the first quarter of 2022 from P5.02 billion in the same period last year.

“There was no price increase implemented in 2021 and most of the first quarter 22, with the previous one in October 2020, so the lower profit can be attributed to the P5.00 increase in excise taxes that PMFTC had to absorb starting January 1, 2022,” LTG said.

TDI’s net profit for the first quarter of 2022 jumped 42 percent to P333 million from P235 million in the same period of 2021. Liquor volume was slightly higher while bioethanol volume had a higher growth of over 60 percent.

As of the end of March 2022, TDI’s nationwide market share for distilled spirits was at 30.2 percent, compared to end-March 2021’s 26.5 percent.

In the Visayas and Mindanao regions where most of TDI’s sales are generated, market share was at 70.3 percent and 80.1 percent, respectively, compared to 70.1 percent and 76.0 percent as of end-March 2021.

Eton reported a 15 percent drop in bottom line to P128 million in the first quarter of 2022 from the P150 million reported for the same quarter last year.

Despite higher sales volume, ABI’s net profit fell 62 percent to P80 million for the first quarter of 2022 from the P211 million reported in the same period last year due to higher raw material, fuel and other costs.

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The article was originally published in Manila Bulletin and written by James A. Loyola.