Invests in pharma importer Ayala doubles profit to ₱46.2 B

Ayala Corporation reported that its net income almost doubled to ₱46.2 billion during the first nine months of the year, lifted by the solid contribution of its banking, telecommunications, real estate, and power units.

In a disclosure, Ayala said equity earnings from Ayala’s business units grew 77 percent to ₱51.9 billion, boosted by contributions coming from the Bank of the Philippine Islands, Ayala Land, and AC Energy.

Ayala also recognized gains from the merger of AC Education with iPeople and from the partial divestment of AC Energy’s thermal assets.

All these cushioned the impact of weaker results of AC Industrials, which is experiencing headwinds from one of the sharpest and most widespread downturns in global manufacturing that significantly weighed on most of its business lines.

“We are pleased to see sustained growth in most of our core businesses continuing to provide stability in our earnings. AC Energy has quickly become a significant contributor to our portfolio,” Ayala President Fernando

Zobel de Ayala said.

He added that, “We continue to be mindful of the challenges in some sectors, particularly AC Industrials and the global manufacturing space. We believe the strategies put forth in AC industrials continue to be promising but are saddled near-term by geopolitical and trade issues.

“The pipeline of opportunities remains strong and efforts to manage the effects of this near-term uncertainty are being aggressively addressed,” Zobel explained.

Meanwhile, Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AC Health) is expanding its pharma portfolio with new investments into IE Medica, one of the major importers of pharmaceutical products in the country, and MedEthix, its affiliated distribution company.

In a statement, Ayala Corporation said AC Health has signed an agreement to acquire minority stakes in both companies.

IE Medica and MedEthix were founded by Vasant and Monaliza Salian in 2006 and 2009, respectively, with the goal of importing and distributing a wide range of medicines, including generics and innovative drug delivery systems.