JG Summit hikes 2026 spending to P70.3 billion

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March 30, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Gokongwei Group is jacking up the capital expenditures budget for conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc. this year, with higher investments seen for its real estate development arm and food and beverage unit.

A company investor presentation showed that JG Summit is allocating P70.3 billion in capex for 2026, higher than last year’s P66.5 billion.

The biggest portion at P35.4 billion will go to Cebu Air  Inc., operator of budget airline Cebu Pacific, to fund seven aircraft deliveries.

Robinsons Land Corp., for its part, has earmarked P25.5 billion, with heavier spending on active projects in malls, offices and destination estates.

Meanwhile, food and beverage unit Universal Robina Corp. is investing P8 billion for carryover projects for the Malvar mega plant in Batangas, as well as capacity expansions and line upgrades in URC and increased local production.

Given recent global events, JG Summit said it is in the process of recalibrating its forecasts for 2026 and running various scenario analyses.

JG Summit reported a net loss of P87.9 billion for 2025, reflecting the results of its discontinued petrochemical operations, which includes the P114.3 billion impairment loss booked by JG Summit Olefins Corp. after receiving board approval to write down its assets in the fourth quarter of the year.

Still, the group capped off 2025 with a three percent year-on-year improvement in its recurring net income from continuing operations to P31.9 billion on the back of growing demand for travel and leisure alongside strong consumption.

JG Summit saw revenues from ongoing businesses rise by nine percent to P368.6 billion as a result of the double-digit growth in its airline and real estate subsidiaries, coupled with a steady volume-driven topline increase in its food and beverage arm.

The absence of the P7.9 billion gain recognized in 2024 on its bank merger transaction, however, pulled down core net income and net income from continuing operations by 11 percent and seven percent year-on-year to P36.4 billion and P36.1 billion, respectively.

Excluding these one-off gains, JG Summit said it closed the year with recurring net profits of P31.9 billion.

“As we look ahead to 2026 amid heightened global uncertainty, we are taking a prudent and disciplined approach – prioritizing cash flow protection, balance sheet strength and operational efficiency,” JG Summit president and CEO Lance Gokongwei said.

“At the same time, we remain focused on long-term value creation as we continue to advance our parent transformation, with our business units refining their value creation plans under clear governance and investment guardrails informed by our portfolio review,” he said.

Gokongwei said the group has also commenced talks with potential buyers of its Batangas petrochemical plant, which was placed on indefinite shutdown for at least two years in 2025.

He said the group has “started discussions with potential buyers of the mothballed asset and are determining the best use of the Batangas complex.”

Last year, The STAR reported JG Summit’s potential exit from its petrochemicals business, with the company announcing it was putting the plant on indefinite shutdown for at least two years, given the unfavorable market conditions in the global petrochemical industry.

Gokongwei told The STAR in an interview last year that the group would explore options “which include the full sale of the business, or a joint venture, or at least preserving it for at least two years, hoping that the cycle will turn around at some point.”

For potential buyers of the group’s petrochemical business, in case it goes on sale, he said previously that it should be someone looking at the Philippines as a manufacturing base for Southeast Asia.