ANDREW Tan-led Alliance Global Group, Inc. (AGI) is accelerating its innovation and digital transformation strategies, as the conglomerate braces for the ‘new reality.’
“This pandemic is accelerating our digitalization efforts across our businesses. These involve investments in e-commerce applications, interactive customer service management, and contactless online transactions, among others. This should help us navigate the business environment and provide our customers with the enhanced services they need under the new reality,” says Kevin L. Tan, chief executive officer, AGI.
With varied interests spanning real estate developments through property giant Megaworld Corporation; leisure, entertainment and hospitality through Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc.; spirits manufacturing through Emperador Inc.; quick service restaurants through Golden Arches Development Corporation (GADC), popularly known as McDonald’s Philippines; and infrastructure developments through Infracorp, AGI remains optimistic that it can hurdle the challenges brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
Last year, AGI reported a record profit of P27.1-billion in 2019, reflecting a growth of 15 percent from P23.7-billion the year before. The Group’s stellar performance came on the back of a 15 percent improvement in consolidated revenues to P180-billion from P156.8 billion the year before. Net income to owners during the year stood at P17.7-billion, up 17 percent from last year’s P15.1 billion.
“Our much-improved performance last year has placed the AGI Group on a strong and healthy financial footing that served us well during this time of the coronavirus pandemic,” says Kevin L. Tan, chief executive officer, AGI.
AGI also ended 2019 with a consolidated net debt-to-equity ratio of 49 percent, among the lowest gearing in the industry.
“This has also allowed the AGI Group to quickly respond to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic where we have released a total of P1.1-billion in donations and financial assistance to various institutions, local government units (LGUs), hospitals, and other partner beneficiaries,” adds Tan.
Earlier during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), AGI and its subsidiaries contributed P110-million to Project Ugnayan of the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation, and another P66-million in donations to various LGUs and other organizations that support pandemic frontliners as well as poor communities affected by the crisis.
Together with Emperador, the holding firm also donated one million liters of disinfectant alcohol worth around P250-million to various LGUs as well as frontline workers that include medical personnel, policemen, soldiers and other marshals during the lockdown.
Megaworld and its subsidiaries, on the other hand, donated P60-million to the Philippine Red Cross for the purchase of four brand new sets of COVID-19 test laboratories in Metro Manila. The real estate group also donated more than P10-million worth of meals, groceries, personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies, and transport services to various hospitals, security checkpoint frontliners, LGUs, and partner organizations around the country.
GADC or McDonald’s Philippines also rolled out its McDonald’s Kindness Kitchen that provided meals and financial assistance amounting to around P500-million to poor communities and its employees around the country.
Likewise, Travellers and its partners donated around P125-million worth of PPEs to hospital partners and food distribution to poor communities around Metro Manila. The company also contributed P12-million to ABS-CBN’s “Pantawid ng Pag-Ibig” project coming from the proceeds from the livestreaming of its hit musical “Ang Huling El Bimbo.”/PN