Lopez Holdings profit up 38%

LOPEZ Holdings grew its firstsemester net profit attributable to equity holders of parent firm by 38 percent year-on-year to P2.69 billion, driven by higher earnings from its power generation and media businesses.

First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH) saw its six-month net profit jump 34 percent while ABS-CBN Corp. boosted income by 76 percent for the period, the holding firm disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday.

Unaudited consolidated revenues declined by 9 percent yearon-year to P44.14 billion in the first six months. However, the group unlocked gains from higher efficiencies.

FPH costs and expenses fell by a faster 12 percent following a 9percent decline in revenues. In the same way, ABS-CBN’s expenses grew by a slower 13 percent compared to a 19-percent rise in revenues for the six-month period.

For FPH, net income rose 34 percent year-on-year to P3.56 billion. Sale of electricity accounted for 86 percent of revenues in the first semester.

ABS-CBN registered a 76-percent increase in six-month net income to P2.11 billion, driven by the 32-percent growth in advertising revenues that included election spending. ABS-CBN reported unaudited revenues of P20.99 billion, 19-percent higher than the level last year. Advertising income accounted for 60 percent of revenues this semester compared to 54 percent in the same period last year.

The network claimed that the top 15 most watched TV programs from January to June 2016 were all aired on ABS-CBN’s flagship Channel 2, based on average audience share during the period.