Asia United Banks net profit grows by 7.

6%
to P879.5M in first half of 2014
By Doris C. Dumlao |Philippine Daily Inquirer
2:42 pm | Monday, August 18th, 2014

MANILA, Philippines The Rebisco groups banking arm Asia United Bank grew its six-
month net profit by 7.6 percent year-on-year to P879.5 million on a double-digit growth in core
lending and a recovery in treasury earnings, bucking the downturn seen by most of its banking
peers.
A strong comeback was seen in the second quarter, with net profit surging by 147 percent year-
on-year to P674.2 million, thereby offsetting the bottom-line contraction posted in the first
quarter. The second quarter rebound was attributed to a result of the 0.8 percent growth in the
groups net interest income and a 181.9 percent increase in its operating or non-interest income,
which compensated for the higher operating expenses and provision for income tax.
AUBs net interest income for the six-month period grew by 52.8 percent year-on-year to P1.89
billion on the back of a stable net interest margin of 4.35 percent.
The groups other non-interest income excluding securities trading gain also grew by 163.6
percent year-on-year to P690.134 million for the six-month period due to the following factors:
* Higher service charges, fees, and commissions from new bookings of commercial/consumer
loans as well as higher volume of branch transactions and remittances;
* Higher miscellaneous income due to gains on sale of foreclosed properties and miscellaneous
fees from operating lease income; and
* Foreign exchange gain in the first six months of the year coming from a loss in the same period
in 2013.
On the expenditure side, operating expenses grew by 33.37 percent year-on-year to P1.65 billion,
driven by higher compensation and fringe benefits as a result of the additional headcount in the
new branches, lending units, and operations and a retroactive adjustment of merit increases.
Provision for credit losses also rose 66.4 percent on account of a higher general loan loss
provision in line with the loan portfolio growth.


PSE eyes 10% hike in profit
By Doris C. Dumlao |Philippine Daily Inquirer
8:00 am | Monday, August 18th, 2014

The Philippine Stock Exchange is on track to see P200-billion worth of capital-raising activities
at its bourse this year, nearly replicating record feats in the last two years.
The PSE is also in line with its goal to grow net profit by at least 10 percent this year, bourse
president Hans Sicat said in a briefing Friday night.
In the first semester, the PSE expanded its net income by 34 percent year-on-year to P570.26
million as listing-related income more than doubled. In the first six months, Sicat said capital-
raising activities through the PSE had already reached about P99 billion.
In the next four to six weeks, theres another P20 billion to P25 billion coming on board, Sicat
said. About nine or 10 companies are seen making their trading debut this year, whether through
an initial public offering (IPO), listing by introduction or backdoor listing, he said.
In the first semester, two companies conducted IPOsDouble Dragon Properties and Century
Pacific Food Inc.
The projected amount of capital-raising activities this year also includes follow-on offerings,
stock rights offerings, private placements and other activities aside from IPOs.
Our estimate is that there will be more fund-raising in the next nine months than in the second
half of 2015, Sicat said, noting that as central banks around the world start raising interest rates
in the latter half of next year, companies would want to tap the capital markets ahead of the
monetary tightening cycle.
On the PSEs first semester results, six-month revenues were up by 27.6 percent year-on-year to
P909.49 million, on the back of a 109.1-percent surge in listing-related income to P575.77
million. Trading-related income, another revenue component of the exchange, was down,
however, by 17.3 percent year-on-year to P144.92 million due to lower trading volume.
The decline was tempered by a 21.3-percent rise in data feed income and a 61-percent growth in
subscription fees.
We are looking forward to more capital-raising activities this year as market conditions remain
ideal for that purpose. We are also optimistic that trading activity will pick up in the remaining
months so we can see average daily turnover closer to the previous years level, Sicat said.
Total expenses rose by 13.5 percent to P273.27 million, mainly as a result of higher operational
expenses.
Investors advised to stay on course
Philippine Daily Inquirer
7:30 am | Monday, August 18th, 2014

The local stock market is still on a secular bull cycle as it maintains the index target of 10,000
by 2018, stock experts from Philequity group said.
Despite a string of recent negative news here and abroad, the fact that the Philippine Stock
Exchange index broke past the 7,000 barrier suggested the market possessed an underlying
strength, enabling investors to buy on dips, said Miguel Agarao, an analyst handling
institutional sales at Wealth Securities.
Last week, PSEi jumped 128.17 points, or 1.86 percent, week-on-week
to close at 7,008.51 on Friday, getting a boost from the latest MSCI rebalancing. The index is
now trading at 14-month highs.
Wealth Securities is neutral on the market over the short-term, but bullish over the long term,
Agarao said in a briefing for Philequity investors last Saturday.
Agarao also advised investors to stay on course.
Jerome Gonzales, head of research at Philequity Management Inc.a fund management firm
whose equity funds have consistently outperformed the PSEi over the last 20 yearssaid the
previous consolidation phase would act as a strong support for the market.
Gonzales said the Philippine stock market had recently finished the fourth of five Elliot waves
a tool for technical analysis which tracks repetitive patterns or waves to anticipate market cycles.
He said that, while the peak of the wave was around 7,400, which was hit last year, wave 5
would hit a new high of 8,290.
The group maintained the view that the record high of 7,400 would be revisited by the first
quarter of 2015 and further reaches 8,100 by the first quarter of 2016. The long-term goal is
10,000, assuming that the pace of reforms will continue, while structural changes are delivered
and other important growth drivers developed.
Technical analysis is not an exact science, Gonzales said. Sometimes the waves are shorter,
sometimes they extend. Whats important is the direction moving forward is higher.
Wilson Sy, director of Philequity, said that while there had been concerns on what would happen
by 2016when the Philippines will elect a new presidentthe market could take comfort in the
view held by global rating agency Standard & Poors that the structural reforms in the country
would endure beyond 2016. Doris C. Dumlao
Cosco Capital profit rises 374%
By Ben O. de Vera |Philippine Daily Inquirer
7:00 am | Monday, August 18th, 2014

Cosco Capital Inc., the conglomerate of grocery and logistics magnate Lucio Co, saw its profit
jump 374 percent to P2.313 billion in the first half of 2014, from last years P488 million.
Revenue, meanwhile, ballooned by 549 percent to P40.590 billion in the first six months from
the P6.257 billion reported in the same period last year.
Cosco was a mining firm from January to May 2013, before it became a conglomerate in June.
When the group included the operational results and revenues of 14 companies in 2014, and
compared the figures with those of the previous year, it resulted in what it called an out-of-
range fluctuation, the company explained.
Cosco Capital used to be Alcorn Gold Resources Corp. and engaged in mineral and oil
development and exploration before it was converted into a holding company.
At present, the group has interests in liquor distribution, mining, real estate and retail.
At the end of June, the retail segments consolidated net sales rose 16.8 percent to P38.5 billion
from P33 billion last year, as the new stores put up in 2013 became fully operational, the
company said.
The consolidated net income from retail in the first half, however, slipped 6.6 percent to P1.656
billion, from P1.772 billion last year. Retails consolidated gross profit, nonetheless, grew by a
tenth to P6.4 billion during the first half, from P5.8 billion last year.
The real estate segment posted a 6-percent hike in first half revenues to P927 million from last
years P874 million. Net income from real estate thus climbed 23 percent to P389 million at end-
June from P316 million last year as revenues grew while operating and interest expenses
decreased.
As for the liquor distribution business, revenues in the first half went up by 8 percent to P1.517
billion, from P1.402 billion last year. Its profit grew to P201 million at end-June from last years
P173 million.




S&P 500 at new record on Apple earnings;
Dow drops
Agence France-Presse
7:09 am | Thursday, July 24th, 2014

The S&P 500 Wednesday closed at a new record high after strong Apple earnings lifted the tech
sector on a mixed day for stocks. AP FILE PHOTO
NEW YORKThe S&P 500 Wednesday closed at a new record high after strong Apple earnings
lifted the tech sector on a mixed day for stocks.
The S&P 500 added 3.48 points (0.18 percent) at 1,987.01, breaching a record set three weeks
ago by about three points.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 26.91 (0.16 percent) to 17,086.63, dragged down by
a hefty fall by Boeing.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 17.68 (0.40 percent) to 4,473.70.
Theres less talk of geopolitical concerns, whether it be in Gaza or Ukraine, and more
discussion of fundamentals, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities.
On balance, earnings have been better than expected.
Apple, the biggest publicly traded company in the US, gained 2.6 percent on the Nasdaq as
profits for its fiscal third quarter rose 11.6 percent to $7.7 billion due to strong demand for
iPhones, particularly in China.
Boeing dropped 2.3 percent, the biggest Dow decliner, despite reporting second-quarter earnings
that bested expectations by a wide margin and raising its full-year profit outlook. Analysts were
troubled by a $272 million after-tax charge for a US Air Force tanker contract.
Caterpillar, another Dow component, lost 1.5 percent as it disclosed lower industrial machine
sales for the last three months. The biggest declines came in the resources sector, which fell 49
percent in April and 38 percent in June. Caterpillar is to report quarterly earnings Thursday
before the equities markets open.
PepsiCo rose 1.9 percent as second-quarter earnings of $1.32 per share bested analyst
expectations by 9 cents and the beverage company raised its full-year profit forecast.
Other companies that reported earnings included Biogen (+11.2 percent), Delta Air Lines (+3.9
percent), Dow Chemical (+3.0 percent), Freeport-McMoRan (-0.4 percent), Northrop Grumman
(+0.1 percent), Weatherford International (+1.7 percent) and Whirlpool (+1.4 percent).
In non-earnings news, Puma Biotechnology bolted 295.4 percent higher to $233.43 after a trial
of its neratinib treatment for breast cancer resulted in a 33 percent improvement in disease-free
survival of the survey population. The company plans to file for regulatory approval for the
medication in the first half of 2015.
Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.46 percent from 2.47
percent Tuesday, while the 30-year held rose to 3.26 percent from 3.25 percent. Bond prices and
yields move inversely.