Lucio Tan’s LT Group Inc. entered 2026 with a familiar earnings formula: banking supplied the largest profit share, but tobacco remained the quiet cash machine underpinning the conglomerate’s dividend appeal. LTG’s first-quarter net income attributable to shareholders rose 3.5% to ₱7.49 billion , from ₱7.24 billion a year earlier, even as consolidated revenue slipped 1.2% to ₱30.78 billion . The headline result looked steady. Underneath it, however, the quarter showed a more nuanced story: LTG’s tobacco arm remained highly profitable, but the engine is beginning to show volume pressure. Fortune Tobacco Corp., LTG’s tobacco vehicle, posted ₱2.86 billion in net income in the first quarter, up 1.9% from ₱2.81 billion a year earlier. That made tobacco LTG’s second-biggest earnings contributor after Philippine National Bank, accounting for roughly 38% of attributable income based on management’s segment disclosures. The catch is that the profit increase did not come from stronger ...