the Outsider - PSE Points to Ponder

  Monde Nissin Corp.’s most scrutinized business may finally be showing signs of life. The Philippine food maker controlled by entrepreneur Betty Ang reported a sharp improvement in its Meat Alternative segment in the first quarter of 2026, offering investors the clearest evidence yet that the company’s long-troubled plant-based meat bet is beginning to stabilize. The segment, which includes Quorn, swung to core income after tax at ownership of ₱87 million , reversing a ₱58 million loss a year earlier, while core EBITDA more than doubled to ₱325 million from ₱140 million .  For a company whose domestic noodles, biscuits, cakes, and beverages business has remained a dependable cash generator, the performance of Meat Alternatives has been the overhang. Monde’s acquisition-led push into plant-based protein once promised global growth, but the category’s slowdown, inflationary pressure, and operational challenges turned it into a drag on earnings and sentiment. Q1 2026 suggests t...

Dennis Uy’s Converge ICT Solutions Inc. is beginning to look more like the kind of telecom infrastructure company Philippine investors have seen before: one that borrows to fund network expansion while continuing to reward shareholders with generous dividends. The resemblance is not exact. Converge remains far less leveraged than PLDT Inc. was during its heavier investment cycles, and its enterprise and data-center ambitions suggest it is still in expansion mode rather than simply defending a mature franchise. But its first-quarter 2026 results show a capital allocation pattern that is becoming harder to ignore: free cash flow fell short of dividends, debt increased, and management continued investing for growth. Converge reported ₱11.19 billion in revenue for the first quarter of 2026, up 4% year-on-year from ₱10.80 billion . Net income, however, was essentially flat at ₱3.02 billion , while earnings per share stayed unchanged at ₱0.42 .  That combination — modest revenue growth...

  Emperador Inc.’s first-quarter numbers tell two stories at once. On the surface, the Philippine-listed spirits maker delivered a stronger operating performance: sales rose, margins widened and profit edged higher. But beneath that improvement sits a more cautious capital-allocation message—one that helps explain why the company’s dividend distribution has become more conservative. The distilled spirits group declared a ₱0.1351 per-share cash dividend in January 2026 , equivalent to about ₱2.13 billion , down sharply from ₱0.1900 per share, or ₱2.99 billion, in 2025 , and far below the ₱0.2900 per share, or ₱4.56 billion, declared in 2023 . The cut is not happening against a backdrop of collapsing earnings. Instead, it appears to reflect management’s decision to preserve cash while funding Scotch Whisky expansion and absorbing higher financing costs.  Emperador’s first-quarter sales from goods and services rose 6% year on year to ₱12.87 billion , while gross profit climbed 16...

  Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. is approaching its planned exit from the Philippine Stock Exchange with a message that is both reassuring and complicated: the stores are still growing, but the balance sheet is now doing more of the explaining. The Gokongwei-led retailer posted a strong first quarter operationally, with consolidated net sales rising 10.3% to ₱52.8 billion , supported by 4.1% same-store sales growth , new store contributions and the full-quarter consolidation of Premiumbikes. Core net income rose 6.2% to ₱1.3 billion , suggesting that the underlying retail engine remains healthy even as the company prepares to leave the public market. But the headline profit told a weaker story. Net income attributable to equity holders of the parent fell 35.6% to ₱489 million , dragged down by higher interest expense tied to the DFI share buyback and BPI-related debt, deeper losses from associates, lower dividend income and foreign-exchange losses. That tension — strong stores, wea...

  Lucio Co’s liquor distribution arm, The Keepers Holdings Inc. , delivered a stronger first-quarter profit as Filipinos bought more spirits, but the company’s latest numbers also showed the squeeze facing import-heavy consumer businesses: higher foreign exchange costs, elevated fuel prices, and another round of excise-tax increases. The company reported net sales of ₱4.31 billion in the three months ended March 31, 2026 , up 6.1% from a year earlier, as total cases sold rose 4% . Brandy remained the group’s anchor category, accounting for 81% of sales value and 84% of sales volume .  But the volume growth came at a cost. Gross margin narrowed to 25.5% from 27.0% a year earlier, as the cost of sales rose faster than revenue. Management attributed the margin decline to high foreign-currency rates, elevated fuel costs, and the annual excise tax increase , while noting that the group did not implement price increases during the first three months of 2026 .  That makes Keep...

  VIP weakness and softer mass play dragged first-quarter gaming revenue lower, while margin compression pushed the casino operator into a quarterly loss Bloomberry Resorts Corp. opened 2026 with a reminder that even a larger casino footprint does not fully shield an operator from a downturn in gaming demand. The Enrique Razon-led casino operator reported a 12.6% year-on-year decline in consolidated gross gaming revenue to ₱14.67 billion in the first quarter, as VIP and mass-market activity weakened across its Philippine gaming floors. Philippine VIP rolling chip volume fell 39.7% , mass table drop declined 9.9% , and slot coin-in slipped 9.6% , underscoring a broad slowdown in casino play rather than a single-segment softness.  The decline pushed Bloomberry into a materially weaker earnings position. Consolidated EBITDA dropped 32.0% to ₱2.98 billion , while EBITDA margin narrowed to 22.7% from 30.5% a year earlier. Net income swung to a ₱125.0 million loss , compared with ...

  ABS-CBN Corp.’s long-running turnaround effort suffered another blow in the first quarter of 2026, as weaker advertising, a shrinking cable business, and compressed gross margins pushed the former broadcasting giant into negative equity. The Lopez-led media company reported a ₱813 million net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2026, wider than the ₱500 million loss a year earlier, as consolidated revenue fell 21% to ₱3.33 billion . Gross profit dropped to ₱527 million from ₱1.02 billion , driving the gross profit ratio down to about 15.8% from roughly 24.0% in Q1 2025. The weak quarter erased what remained of ABS-CBN’s equity cushion. Total equity swung to a ₱66 million deficit from ₱747 million positive equity at end-2025, while the company’s accumulated deficit widened to ₱6.65 billion from ₱5.97 billion . The results underscore how difficult it has been for the Lopezes to rebuild ABS-CBN’s earnings base after the loss of its broadcast franchise. Management has s...