MANILA: A massive gain from the revaluation of its investment properties resulted in the earnings of Golden MV Holdings Inc skyrocketing to nearly one trillion peso last year, toppling record holder SM Investments Corp (SMIC) from its throne.
The mass housing and memorial park developer led by real estate mogul Manuel Villar disclosed to the stock exchange yesterday that its earnings ballooned to 999.72 billion peso from 1.46 billion peso in 2023.
This was “largely driven by fair value gains on investment properties” that totalled 1.33 trillion peso, it said.
Golden MV’s net income surpasses that of record holder SMIC, the country’s largest company in terms of market capitalisation.
The Sy family-led conglomerate claimed the No. 1 spot when its bottom line landed at 82.6 billion peso, up by 7% on the strong performance of its businesses despite inflationary headwinds.
It can be noted, however, that Golden MV’s revenues dipped by a quarter to 3.6 billion peso on lower real estate sales, which fell by 26% to 3.3 billion peso, reflecting the still-challenging environment for the sector.
Lower residential unit sales likewise pulled down operating profit by 29%.
But while Golden MV’s net income is considered the largest recorded by a Philippine company so far, its gains may not be counted in this context.
“We generally don’t consider fair value gains when evaluating earnings since it’s one-off, or non-recurring,” Alfred Benjamin Garcia, AP Securities Inc research head, pointed out in a text message to the Inquirer.
Ron Acoba, chief investment strategist at Trading Edge Consultancy, also noted that these gains were essentially non-cash, and that Golden MV may not have actually earned money from the revaluation. — Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
