Ayala Corp., or AC, the oldest conglomerate in the country, ended 2023 with a strong 48 percent growth in core net income, amounting to a record-breaking P41 billion.

The growth was primarily driven by the outstanding performance of its banking, real estate, and power businesses.

In a stock report released on Wednesday, Ayala Corp. stated that its core net income was 32 percent higher than its pre-pandemic level in 2019 and the time when the previous high water mark was established.

Additionally, when accounting for one-time gains and losses, Ayala’s net income grew by 39 percent, reaching P38.1 billion.

“We succeeded in getting aggregate core earnings to exceed the pre-pandemic high,” Ayala president and CEO Cezar Consing said.

“Now we focus on getting better operating and financial results from each of our businesses, and on rationalizing the portfolio where it makes sense to do so,” he added.

Ayala’s banking subsidiary, Bank of the Philippine Islands, or BPI, reported a 44 percent jump in earnings, which reached an all-time high of P51.7 billion. The growth was attributable to robust loan growth, improved margins, and reduced provisions.

Furthermore, Ayala Land Inc. delivered a 32 percent surge in its net income, reaching P24.5 billion, which underscored the strength of its property development and commercial leasing segments.

One-time gains lift ACEN

ACEN, the energy platform of the group, experienced a remarkable surge in income from operating units, tripling to P4.9 billion. However, inclusive of one-offs, ACEN’s net income went down to P7.4 billion last year from P13.1 billion the year prior due to remeasurement gain from the acquisition of the Australia platform in 2022.

Globe Telecom Inc., the group’s telco arm, reported a significant drop in profit by 29 percent, leading to P24.6 billion due to a one-time gain from a partial sale of their data center business in 2022.

AC Health, despite expanding its portfolio through acquisitions, is yet to achieve profitability because of non-recurring expenses and increased investments in manpower and marketing.

On the other hand, AC Industrials experienced a substantial widening of losses to P7.3 billion compared to the previous P1.7 billion. This significant increase resulted from impairment charges associated with divestments from MT C-con and STI Enterprises.

Ayala has been working diligently to grow its businesses across all segments to maintain its impressive growth.

One of the most recent developments was the rebranding of AC Motors to ACMobility as part of its transformation to become an end-to-end mobility provider.