While government estimates showed that the economy might contract by 2 percent in 2020, some economists were projecting a higher deceleration of 10-20 percent, Tan noted.
Tan likewise noted that thousands of overseas Filipino workers have lost their jobs and thus had returned home as the COVID-19 pandemic likewise hit their host countries.In 2019, LTG’s attributable net income reached a record-high P23.12 billion, 43 percent up from year-ago level. In the first quarter of 2020, LTG grew its net profit by 41 percent year-on-year to P6.21 billion, driven mostly by price increases in the tobacco business. Earnings from the banking, beer and hard liquor businesses faltered. The real estate business gained.
Tan said he was hoping that LTG’s strong 2019 results would give the conglomerate a strong foundation to weather the current crisis.