ALLIANCE GLOBAL H1 NET UP 17% TO P7.9B

Tycoon Andrew Tan-led conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI) grew its net profit in the first semester by 17 percent year-on-year to P7.9 billion on higher earnings across its real estate, gaming, liquor and food retailing businesses.

Including earnings attributable to minority interest, AGI’s consolidated six-month net profit went up by 23 percent year-on-year to P12.4 billion.

Consolidated revenue in the first semester grew by 9 percent year-on-year to P73.2 billion.

“All of the group’s major subsidiaries delivered strong top line and bottom line re- sults, reflecting the improving outlook in their respective business segments,” AGI chief executive Kevin Tan said in a press statement on Friday.

“We have consistently grown our reliable sources of income and have improved our operating leverage. All of these should support us as we navigate the challenging economic environment moving forward,” Tan added.

Property arm Megaworld Corp. grew its first semester net profit by 13 percent year-on-year to P7.3 billion on higher revenues from the rental and residential business segments.

Hard liquor arm Emper- ador Inc., now the world’s largest brandy company, eked out an 18-percent growth in attributable net income to P3.3 billion in the first half. This was driven largely by the increasing contribution from its whisky operations.

Travellers International, owner and operator of Resorts World Manila (RWM), improved its attributable net profit to P1.7 billion compared to only P375 million a year before.

Although volumes were steady, gaming revenue went down by 3 percent to P4.5 billion during the period due to a slightly lower average hold rate of 5.3 percent.—