MANILA - Ayala Corp. said Thursday its third quarter net income improved to P3.4 billion versus the past few quarters on gains of its property, banks and industrial business as the economy started to reopen.

"It is encouraging to see improvements in the performance of our businesses as the economy gradually reopens. Ayala Land, BPI, and AC Industrials have all shown a marked recovery in their third quarter results compared to the previous period," Ayala President and COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala said.

Ayala noted its telecoms and energy businesses also maintained stable performance in the quarter.

"We are hoping to see this trajectory sustained in our businesses with a further loosening of restrictions,” Zobel de Ayala said.

For the first nine months of the year, Ayala's net income decreased by 75 percent to P11.4 billion from P46.2 billion a year ago.

The decline was attributed to the slowdown in take-up of construction and malls for property, aggressive loan loss provision for banks, and the effect of the divestment gains made last year.

The company said its P9.2-billion capital spending for the year was mostly invested in new businesses of Ayala.

• Ayala Corp says H1 profit drops as units hurt by virus

Ayala's AC Energy is expanding aggressively with investments in the Asia-Pacific region to meet its goal of 5 gigawatts (GW) renewable energy portfolio by 2025.

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