LTG profit soars to P28.9 billion

March 4, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Earnings of taipan Lucio Tan’s LT Group Inc. (LTG) zoomed to a record high last year, fueled by strong contributions across most business segments.

LTG reported an attributable net income of P28.92 billion in 2024, 14 percent higher from P25.42 billion recorded in the previous year.

“This positive trend was driven by improved performance across most business segments, except for property development,” LTG said.

Revenues rose by 12 percent to P129 billion from P115.3 billion in 2023 driven by improved revenues from the banking, distilled spirits, beverage and property development segments.

The group’s tobacco segment recorded a net income of P12.8 billion, up by 12.2 percent year-on-year as a result primarily of higher dividends received from PMFTC and higher foreign exchange gains.

LTG said that PMFTC’s cigarette volume last year mirrored the overall industry trend, declining by 11 percent to 21.1 billion sticks in 2024 from 23.8 billion sticks in 2023.

The drop was attributed to affordability issues, rising illicit trade and the growing popularity of vaping.

LTG’s banking segment through Philippine National Bank also saw a strong performance in 2024, posting an 11.3 percent jump in net income to P21.2 billion due to higher net interest income in the current period.

Higher increase in gross interest income relative to gross interest expense resulted to an 11-percent improvement in the bank’s net interest income to P49.34 billion last year.

Tanduay Distillers Inc., meanwhile, delivered a record high net income of P2.15 billion in 2024, 37 percent higher than the P1.57 billion recorded in the previous year.

Higher liquor prices coupled with higher volume of liquor and bioethanol buoyed the distilled spirits segment revenues by 13 percent to P33.85 billion.

Tanduay maintained its dominance in Visayas and Mindanao, where it holds a share of 70.9 percent and 80.8 percent, respectively.

Its nationwide market share for distilled spirits, however, declined slightly to 32.2 percent in 2024 from 32.9 percent in 2023 due to competitive pressures and impact on consumer purchasing power of inflation and weather disturbances during the year.

For the beverage segment, Asia Brewery Inc. registered a 45.5-percent surge in net income to P841 million, driven primarily by higher sales volume in its major product lines.

Cobra energy drink sustained its market leadership with a 53-percent share last year, while Absolute and Summit bottled water brands held on their combined 17-percent market share, making them the third largest local water brand.