Construction firm EEI Corporation reported a consolidated net income of P28.5 million in the first quarter of 2024, a sharp turnaround from the net loss of P444.29 million in the same period last year. 

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said it capitalized on the positive momentum from the previous year wherein the Company achieved robust domestic performance from its construction operations. 

Various initiatives undertaken to address the Company's overall operating efficiency, sharpen its commercial approach and improve project execution continue to yield better results as overall gross profit improvements were sustained. 

For the first quarter of 2024, the Group's consolidated revenues reached P4.04 billion which was 2 percent higher compared to the P3.97 billion posted in the same period last year. 

Revenues from domestic construction contracts decreased by two percent due to lower production from ongoing domestic projects. 

Meanwhile, revenue from services increased by 25 percent due to higher trading and service revenues from EEI Energy Solutions Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of EEI Power Corporation. 

Revenue from merchandise sales significantly grew 10 percent, attributable to the increase in delivery and supply of construction materials of EEI Business Solutions, Inc. 

Overall gross profit improved by 54 percent from P346 million in the first quarter of 2023 to P533 million in the first quarter of 2024. 

This was primarily driven by domestic construction operations where gross profit improved by 63% from P266 million in the previous period to P433 million in this period. 

Meanwhile, gross profit from services, merchandise sales and real estate sales were also improved or sustained. Gross profit from services increased by 27 percent from P67 million to P85 million, gross profit for merchandise sales remained the same at P13 million, and gross profits for real estate sales improved from P233 thousand to P1.1 million. 

For the period in review, EEI registered P30 million in earnings from equity in associates and joint ventures. This is primarily comprised of the performances by EEl's joint ventures in construction projects. 

This was an improvement over the same period last year where losses amounted to P357 million due to the challenges in ARC. The leadership team in ARCC continues to execute on its restructuring and recovery plan. 

These efforts to improve operations and manage overhead enabled EEI to mitigate the significant challenge posed by higher borrowing costs. Financing costs were 29 percent higher in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.