Ayala Corporation Sees 62% Earnings Growth In 2021

Ayala Corporation’s net profits grew 62 percent to P27.8 billion in 2021, primarily driven by realized income from the execution of strategic initiatives in the group, boosted by the improved performance of Ayala Land and BPI.

Photo Insert: (First row: L-R) AC Health President & CEO Paolo Borromeo, Ayala Corporation President & CEO Fernando Zobel de Ayala, IFC Country Manager for the Philippines Jean-Marc Arbogast, Ayala Corporation Chief Finance Officer, Chief Risk Officer, and Chief Sustainability Officer Albert de Larrazabal; (Second row: L-R) Ayala Corporation Treasurer Lito Biacora, Ayala Corporation Group Risk Management and Sustainability Head Vickie Tan, Ayala Corporation Financial Risk Management, Origination Head Ivan Paris

Ayala posted gains from executed transactions during the year, including the remeasurement of its stake in Manila Water following the sale of secondary shares to Trident Water, the sale of the Ayala group’s stake in GNPower Kauswagan, and the entry of a new investor in Mynt.

“We continue to see an improvement in the business environment with better mobility and ability of both enterprises and consumers to adjust to disruptions. With the recent de-escalation of quarantine measures to the lowest status, we are hopeful that 2022 will be the start of our country’s recovery. The Ayala group aims to continue its investment programs and for 2022, we have allocated up to ₱285 billion in combined capital expenditure and investments to execute on the growth initiatives across our businesses,” Ayala President and CEO Fernando Zobel de Ayala said.

“We are, however, mindful of the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on our recovery and investment programs. In particular, we are carefully monitoring how the surge in oil prices would affect domestic interest rates, inflation, and the global supply chain,” Mr. Zobel noted.

Excluding gains and other one-offs, Ayala’s core net income decreased 10 percent to ₱23.5 billion, mainly driven by weaker net interest income in BPI, higher depreciation expense in Globe, and reduced stake in ACEN following the completion of its capital market issuances and sale of secondary shares to GIC combined with higher financing cost taken up at the AC Energy parent level.

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