BPI’s income jumped 52% to P12.1b in first 3 months

By Julito G. Rada

BANK of the Philippine Islands, the third-largest lender in terms of assets, said Thursday net income in the first three months jumped 52 percent year-on-year to P12.1 billion on the back of asset base expansion, margin growth and lower provisions.

The bank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the first-quarter profit translated into a return on equity of 15.4 percent.

“Total revenues for the first quarter of the year grew 25.1 percent to P31.7 billion propelled by the 27.2-percent increase in net interest income to P24.2 billion, on the back of a 10-percent expansion in average asset base coupled

Bloomberry banks on mass gaming market

By Jenniffer B. Austria

BLOOMBERRY Resorts Corp. is banking on the continued strength of the mass gaming market and pickup in regional tourism to sustain its growth momentum this year, a top executive said Thursday.

Bloomberry chairman Enrique Razon Jr. said during the company’s annual stockholders meeting Thursday the company is now back on track with its growth trajectory, with the mass gaming segment poised to set new highs in 2023 and contribute the lion’s share of revenues.

“We anticipate that this segment will grow steadily on the back of sustained expansion of the local economy, which is forecasted to grow between 6 and 7 percent this year,” Razon said.

Bloomberry returned to profitably in 2022 after two years of losses as the domestic-oriented mass table games and slots segments reached 100 percent of pre-Covid levels.

Razon said with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in China and South Korea, the company saw an increase in number of travelers from these two countries and other markets in the region.

“So steadily we are seeing increases in inflow from both countries and other countries as well. We expect and hope that this trend continuous through the year,” Razon said.

He said Bloomberry is also enhancing its non-gaming business to accommodate more domestic and international patrons in its premier hotel, world class restaurants and retail developments.

“We aim to maintain Solaire as the paramount entertainment leisure destination in the Philippines by ramping up the number and quality of shows at The Theatre and opening exciting new luxury retail offerings in The Shoppes,” Razon said.

Razon said the construction of a second integrated casino and hotel in Quezon City continued to pick up after the project was delayed amid the pandemic and the global supply chain problem.

The $1-billion Solaire Resort North is now slated to open by the first quarter of 2024.

with a 52-basis point increase in net interest margin to 3.94 percent,” it said.

It said non-interest income climbed by 18.6 percent to P7.6 billion, driven by higher credit card billings and charges, securities trading gains and fees from investment banking project finance deals.

“Total operating expenses for the first quarter was P15.1 billion on spending for manpower structural increases, milestone payments for digitalization initiatives, targeted marketing campaigns and rewards redemptions, and higher transaction-related processing fees,” it said.

Despite the 19.7-percent increase in operating expenses year-on-year, costto-income ratio remained lower at 47.5 percent on strong revenue generation.

Asset quality also remained strong as the non-performing loan ratio improved to 1.82 percent from 2.38 percent in March 2022, with a robust NPL coverage ratio of 176.71 percent.

The bank booked provisions of P1.0 billion, down by 60 percent from P2.5 billion it recorded over the same period last year, as asset quality has been on an improving trend.

Meralco reported 2% electricity sales growth in first quarter

By Alena Mae S. Flores

POWER retailer Manila Electric Co. said Thursday it posted a 2-percent increase in sales volume growth in the first quarter compared to the same period last year on the strong performance of the commercial segment.

“First quarter 2023 is at 11,287 gigawatt-hours, a 2-percent increase versus first quarter 2022 driven by double-digit commercial sales growth,” Meralco first vice president and chief commercial officer Ferdinand Geluz said.

He said commercial sales went up 11 percent, while the residential and industrial segments declined during the period.

Geluz said the residential segment fell 3 percent, “normalizing on close to pre-pandemic mobility with more faceto-face school and work arrangements resulting in less time spent at home and late start of summer [lower average temperature],” he said.

He said industrial sales declined 3 percent, but did not give additional details.

Meralco’s consolidated distribution utility energy sales volume sustained growth in 2022, recording an improvement of 6 percent to 48,916 GWh as sales demand continued its upward trajectory and businesses and public confidence recovered from the pandemic.

The commercial segment saw its share of the total sales increase to 36 percent from 33 percent in 2021.

Commercial sales volume grew 14 percent to 17,403 GWh in 2022 from 15,234 GWh in 2021 with the increase in mobility and economic activities.

Residential accounted for 35 percent of the total, down from 37 percent last year. Residential sales volume inched up by 1 percent to 17,148 GWh from 16,913 GWh as demand normalized with the resumption of travel and more face-to-face activities that led to less time spent at home by customers.

The industrial segment’s share was at 29 percent in 2022, down from 30 percent in 2021. Customers in the industrial segment registered 3 percent growth last year to 14,221 GWh due to increased commercial activity and demand for essentials boosted sales of food and beverage and plastic packaging.

Cebu Pacific receives its 10th Airbus 320neo (New Engine Option) aircraft as part of the airline’s goal to transition to a more fuel-efficient NEO fleet by 2028. The aircraft used sustainable aviation fuel to fly from the Airbus Delivery Center in Toulouse, France to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila. It is the second of CEB’s 10 expected Airbus NEO deliveries for 2023.

Total assets reached P2.7 trillion, up 12.4 percent from last year, while return on assets was 1.88 percent.

Total loans as of March 31, 2023 climbed 13.6 percent to P1.7 trillion, coming from higher loan growth in the corporate, credit card and auto portfolios of 12.6 percent, 38.7 percent and 16.4 percent, respectively.

It said total deposits increased 13.6 percent to P2.1 trillion. CASA (current and savings account) ratio stood at 70.3 percent, while the loan-to-deposit ratio was 77.3 percent.

Total equity was P331.6 billion, with an indicative common equity tier 1 ratio of 15.7 percent and a capital adequacy ratio of 16.6 percent, both above regulatory requirements.