Manila Water Q3 income jumps 44.3% to P3.19 billion

RAZON-LED Manila Water Co., Inc. saw its third-quarter attributable net income jump by 44.3% to P3.19 billion from P2.3 billion a year ago, buoyed by higher revenues and customer demand growth.

The east zone water concessionaire’s gross revenues for the third quarter grew by 18.6% to P9.19 billion from the previous year’s P7.75 billion, according to its financial statement.

Gross expenses, on the other hand, increased by 7.9% to P4.21 billion from P3.9 billion last year.

For January to September, Manila Water posted an attributable net income of P10.49 billion, higher by 39.5% from last year’s P7.52 billion.

Despite the cost of services and expenses increasing by 4% to P8.8 billion, revenues rose by 19% to P27.5 billion.

“Tariff adjustments for its East Zone Concession and several of its Non-East Zone Philippines (NEZ-PH) businesses continued to provide strong top line support to the robust growth in customer demand,” the company said.

Manila Water said the implementation of approved tariff adjustments in the east zone and in several domestic subsidiaries was further supported by the stable 3% consolidated growth in billed volume.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization for the first nine months improved by 26% to P19.2 billion.

At Manila Water’s east zone concession, revenues grew by 20% to P21.8 billion. Beyond the east zone concession, the Laguna, Clark, Boracay, and Estate Water contributed a combined revenues of P6.5 billion, up 23%.

Moreover, NEZ-PH recorded earnings of P908 million, higher by 89%.

Despite posting higher profit for local operations, its international business accounted for lower share, largely due to the lower contributions from Thailand and Vietnam.

“When we set out on our path to recovery and growth three years ago, we knew fully well that the road ahead would not be easy,” Manila Water President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Victor Emmanuel A. de Dios said.

“We understood that sacrifices would need to be made at the onset, so that we can establish a robust structure and adopt practices that will result in sustainable efficiencies in our operations, better, more reliable service to our customers, and a more disciplined view of how we pursue growth,” he added.

For the nine months ending in September, Manila Water’s capital expenditures reached P16.7 billion, with the east zone concession accounting for 90% of the total at P15.1 billion. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera