Benpres loses P841M in 9 mos on lower earnings, forex losses

Benpres Holdings Corp., the investment holding firm of the Lopez family, incurred a net loss of P841 million in the first nine months of the year, largely due to foreign exchange losses and lower net earnings of subsidiaries.

In a banking address filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange, Benpres said the 14 percent access in circumscribed revenues was account by the 89 percent bead in disinterestedness in net balance of investees from P2.21 billion to P251 million. Aboriginal Philippine Holdings Corp. incurred a P272 actor net loss, a changeabout of the P3.79-billion accumulation appear a year earlier.

The abrasion of the peso to 47.05 to a dollar in September 2008 from 41.28 in December endure year resulted to a accident of P1.27 billion, Benpres said.

Provisions for losses fell seven percent to P104 actor from P112 actor due to lower debt accompanying advances. Absorption and added expenses-net beneath eight percent due to lower absorption rates.

Media conglomerate ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp., the crown jewel of the Lopez Group of Companies, reported a nine percent rise in net profit to P1.2 billion. Similarly, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) went up 12 percent to P4.43 billion, for an EBITDA margin of 27 percent.

Consolidated revenues rose 15 percent to P16.54 billion largely driven by sale of services, which jumped 61 percent year-on-year due to the consolidation of SkyCable's revenues in ABS-CBN as well as the continued subscriber growth of ABS-CBN Global.

Telecommunications unit Bayan Telecommunications Inc., on the other hand, incurred a net loss of P2.57 billion as against the P595 million income reported the same period a year ago. This is mainly due to the foreign exchange loss amounting to P2.482 million this year compared to recognized foreign exchange gains last year of P625 million. Benpres' investment in Bayan have been fully written off. Thus, Benpres does not equitize income or loss from Bayan.