Water, power businesses lift Metro Pacific’s 2013 earnings

Rappler.com

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Metro Pacific units Maynilad and Meralco perform strongly

STAYING STRONG. Infra conglomerate MPIC says all its business units performed well in 2013. Photo taken from MPIC website

MANILA, Philippines – Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), the local unit of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Company Ltd, said its 2013 net income jumped 22% to P7.2 billion from P6 billion the previous year, largely due to the strong performance of its utility units.

MPIC president Jose Ma. K. Lim said water distribution company Maynilad Water Services Inc. accounted for 44% of MPIC’s income, followed by power retailer Manila Electric Company (Meralco), which contributed 27%.

Toll road unit Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) accounted for 22%, while the hospital division contributed 7%.

Minus extraordinary gains and charges, MPIC’s core net income also grew 10% to P7.2 billion from P6.6 billion.

Consolidated revenues increased 11% to P30.9 billion, versus P27.8 billion in 2012.

“All our businesses achieved strong growth in profitability for the year,” Lim said.

P44-B capex

To sustain growth, MPIC chief finance officer David Nicol said the company would spend P44 billion for capital expenditures this year, of which P18 billion would go to Maynilad, P15.5 billion to Meralco, P7 billion to toll road projects, and between P3 billion and P4 billion to the hospital group.

Aside from MPIC, the First Pacific group also owns telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) and top copper-gold producer Philex Mining Corporation.

Including the capex of the other companies, the Hong Kong-based conglomerate earmarked P81.5 billion for capex. PLDT would get P32 billion, and Philex, P4.5 billion.

The capex would be funded by a combination of borrowings and internal cash. Nicol said the group may also issue P10 billion worth of bonds.

MPIC is interested in bidding for government infrastructure projects like the Light Rail Transit 1 Cavite Extension and the Cavite-Laguna Expressway projects.

Units’ performance

Here’s how each unit performed in 2013:

  • Meralco – net income was flat at P17.2 billion, while core net income rose to P17 billion on account of a 4% increase in energy sales. Sales grew on healthy demand from the commercial and residential segments.
  • Maynilad – net income jumped 9% to P6.9 billion as revenues went up 6% to P16.9 billion. The company posted higher billed volume, with the number of new connections rising 5% to 1.129 million.
  • MPTC – Core net income was up 25% at P2 billion as a result of good traffic and lower tax rates, interest and operating costs at the North Luzon Expressway. 

MPIC did not give an income guidance for 2014 due to regulatory issues affecting its utility units. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!