Dear Fellow Stakeholders,
2024 had been a transformative year for AEV as we continued to execute on our diversification strategy. We acquired a 40% stake in Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI), which we later renamed to Coca-Cola Europacific Aboitiz Philippines, Inc. (CCEAP), through a joint venture with The Coca-Cola Company’s largest bottler by revenue globally, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP). This marked our entry into the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, which further strengthened our push to increase revenues coming from the consumer market. AboitizPower entered into a joint venture agreement with Meralco PowerGen Corp, to purchase a 40% stake in Chromite Gas Holdings, Inc., which in turn, purchased a 67% stake in two liquified natural gas (LNG) plants and a gas terminal from San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp. This is AboitizPower’s first foray into the LNG space.
Aboitiz InfraCapital (AIC), on the other hand, continued to execute on its portfolio strategy. In February 2024, it commenced commercial operations of its bulk water supply business under Apo Agua Infrastractura, Inc. in Davao City. With a capacity of 300 million liters per day, it stands as the largest facility of its kind in the Philippines. In addition, AIC was awarded two new regional airports – the Laguindingan and Bohol-Panglao airports. With these two new additions, along with Mactan-Cebu International Airport, AIC is well on its way to building its airport portfolio.
All of these investments happened under a favorable macroeconomic environment. With the downtrend in domestic inflation rates, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) cut policy rates by 75 basis points from 6.50% to 5.75% 40 Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. allowing the local economy to achieve a full- year GDP growth of 5.6%.
AEV’s beneficial EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), which represents our proportional share in the EBITDAs of our subsidiaries and affiliates, rose 32% to PHP64.5 billion in 2024, from PHP48.9 billion in 2023. AboitizPower remains to be the largest contributor, accounting for 60% of our total beneficial EBITDA. On a year-on-year basis, growth was mainly driven by our Food and Beverage segment, whose EBITDA more than doubled to PHP13.9 billion in 2024.
The growth in AEV’s beneficial EBITDA translated to a 15% year-on-year growth in our core net income to PHP25.5 billion. However, after booking a PHP7.5 billion impairment on our 45% stake in Republic Cement and Building Mtaerials, AEV’s net income stood at PHP18.1 billion, down 23% from PHP23.5 billion in 2023. This translates to an earnings per share of PHP3.24 in 2024 and a return on shareholders’ equity (ROE) of 7%.
AEV’s consolidated balance sheet remains well-positioned for opportunistic expansions. We ended 2024 with total cash levels of PHP80.8 billion, down from PHP112.3 billion, following the settlement of our acquisition of 40% of CCEAP in February and our participation in UnionBank’s stock rights offering in May. Despite the decline in cash, growth in investments and property, plant, and equipment led to an increase in our consolidated asset base, which rose to PHP893.0 billion from PHP833.9 billion in 2023. Total liabilities increased by 8%, primarily driven by higher debt availments to fund our ongoing expansions in the power and infrastructure segments. Despite this increase, our net debt-to-equity and debt-to- equity ratios remained stable at 0.8x and 1.0x, respectively.
On March 7, 2025, the Board of Directors of AEV approved a cash dividend of PHP1.54 per share. This is equivalent to 33% of AEV’s core net income in 2024, with an implied dividend yield of 4.6% on the day of its announcement.
Meanwhile, the beneficial EBITDA of AboitizPower rose by 13% to PHP73.3 billion in 2024. EBITDA growth was fueled by higher gross margins in power generation and higher energy sales across the distribution utilities. The double-digit beneficial EBITDA growth in 2024 drove core net income 5% higher to PHP33.7 billion. This translated to an earnings per share of PHP4.70 and an ROE of 20%.
On March 7, 2025, the Board of Directors of AboitizPower also approved a cash dividend of PHP2.35 per share. This is equivalent to 50% of its net income in 2024 and implied a dividend yield of 5.7% on the date of its announcement. This is the highest dividend per share that AboitizPower has paid out in the company’s history.
FUNDRAISING
In 2024, AEV, together with CCEP, secured a PHP24 billion, 10-year term loan with the Bank of the Philippine Islands to fund our acquisition of CCEAP. Beyond this, the Parent focused on servicing its outstanding debt.
AboitizPower, on the other hand, secured a total of PHP22.2 billion of loans, of which PHP13.2 billion was used to fund its renewable energy pipeline, while PHP9.1 billion was used to refinance the maturing financial obligations of its distribution utilities.
ESG ASSESSMENTS
Sustainability remains at the core of AEV’s Great Transformation. The company continues to rank in the upper quartile among global peers in the same category and, in September 2024, placed first among Philippine companies in the Industrial Conglomerate Sector of the 2024 S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessments.
Likewise, AboitizPower ranks at the 73rd percentile in the Electric Utilities Sector of the 2024 S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, with a score of 50/100—a one-point decline from the previous year. It also received an ESG Risk Rating of 27.3 (Medium) from Sustainalytics, placing the company ahead of its local peers assessed within the same industry.
RISK FINANCE
In 2024, the Group focused on managing the rise in premium costs. On top of continuing to leverage on the Group’s diverse portfolio and scale to secure competitive coverage, AEV, including all of its SBUs, conducted bespoke risk studies to better understand exposures, engaged in strategic business discussions with lead insurers through a series of roadshows and explored maximizing local insurer’s capacities and alternative risk transfer solutions in order to optimize risk transfer costs.
AEV’s captive insurance company, Archipelago Insurance, continues to play a vital role in retaining risk for programs where industry pricing does not align with the risk management practices of our SBUs.
In 2024, AboitizPower established its own captive entity, Potentia International Pte Ltd, enabling Archipelago Insurance to re-allocate its coverage to the Group’s non-power SBUs, strengthening the Group’s commitment to proactive risk management and sustainable risk financing.
THANK YOU
To our valued shareholders, we deeply appreciate your unwavering confidence and trust. We are poised for an even more transformative year in 2025 as we focus on simplifying operations, prioritizing efficiency, and ensuring that our SBUs operate smarter and more collaboratively. With a diverse portfolio spanning power, banking, food, real estate, infrastructure, and fast-moving consumer goods, we are committed to delivering sustainable, long-term value to you, our shareholders, and to the nation.
Sincerely yours,
