Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) reported a 28 percent growth in consolidated core net income, hitting a record P20.8 billion in the first nine months of 2024, from P16.2 billion in the same period last year.
In a statement, the firm said improved financial and operating results from MPIC’s holdings delivered a 21 percent increase in contributions from operations to P24.3 billion.
This was mainly driven by strong growth in energy sales at Manila Electric Company (Meralco), higher billed volumes at Maynilad Water Services Inc., and increased traffic on toll roads, complemented by higher tariffs.
“We closed the first three quarters with very good numbers, mirroring the trends we saw in the first half,” said MPIC Chief Finance Officer Chaye Cabal-Revilla.
Among MPIC’s core businesses, Power contributed the largest share at P15.3 billion, or 63 percent of net operating income (NOI). Toll Roads and Water contributed P5.1 billion and P4.5 billion, respectively, representing 39 percent of NOI.
Reported net income rose faster at 44 percent to P23.1 billion from P16.1 billion in the first nine months of last year, owing to additional non-recurring gains from MPIC’s real estate business.
“Our power, toll roads, and water businesses continued to deliver double-digit growth in earnings on the back of strong volumes and the impact of long-overdue tariff adjustments,” said MPIC Chairman, President, and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan.
He added, “All our businesses are investing heavily in service quality and operational efficiency to improve the lives of our customers while simultaneously growing our sales and core profitability to create value for our investors. With MPIC continuing to maintain a low cost of capital, the Company is poised to maintain its strong growth trajectory for the rest of the year.”
Meralco reported a consolidated core net income hike of 17 percent to P35.1 billion on higher contributions from power generation, retail electricity supply, and non-power businesses. Reported net income improved 19 percent to P33.8 billion.
Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation’s core net income grew by 28 percent to P5.2 billion, boosted by a higher share in net earnings of equity-accounted Vietnam and Indonesian toll roads.
Toll revenues rose 16 percent to P23.0 billion due to a combination of toll rate increases in all markets and traffic growth in the Philippines. Average daily vehicle entries in its Philippine operations rose 6 percent to 693,409, declined 2 percent to 76,951 in Vietnam, and 1 percent to 1,218,877 in Indonesia.
Maynilad’s core net income rose 37 percent to P9.3 billion, augmented further by lower operating expenses as revenues grew 23 percent to P24.9 billion. This reflects a 3 percent increase in billed volumes and a 20 percent tariff adjustment in early January.