By James A. Loyola

GT Capital Holdings, Inc., the investment arm of the Ty family, reported that its attributable net income inched up to P10.94 billion in the first nine months of 2018 from the P10.82 billion earned in the same period last year.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said consolidated revenues declined 4.8 percent to P161.3 billion from P169.47 billion in the first nine months of 2017.

Higher equity in net income of associates Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company (Metrobank), Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (Metro Pacific), AXA Philippines, Toyota Financial Services Philippines (TFS), and Sumisho Motor Finance Corporation (Sumisho) contributed to GT Capital’s financial performance.

“The country’s macroeconomic indicators as of the third quarter have shown some positive trends, suggesting that inflation may have already peaked,” GT Capital Chairman Arthur V. Ty explained.

He noted that, “oil prices have declined, foreign exchange rates have shown some strength, and food prices have stabilized. We believe that these factors, combined with the increased spending levels in the last quarter, provide a good backdrop for improved conditions in 2019.”

“Our year-to-date results show the counterbalance between the soft auto sector volume sales mitigated by strong growth in financial services, property, and insurance segments,” GT Capital President Carmelo Maria Luza Bautista said.

Bautista added that, “the consensus is that the decline in auto sales may have bottomed out as monthly volumes have stabilized. We are more optimistic for the coming year, anticipating a rebound in consumer confidence arising from a less volatile macroeconomic environment.”

Metrobank posted a 27 percent jump in net income to P16.8 billion while Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) realized P6.6 billion in consolidated net income.

Metro Pacific reported an 8 percent rise in consolidated core net income to P12.2 billion for the nine months ended 30 September 2018 as GT Capital’s property development subsidiaries, Federal Land, Inc. and Property Company of Friends, Inc., attained a combined net income of P2.3 billion in the first nine months of 2018.