Saavedra-led Megawide Construction Corp. expects its net income to surge 79 percent this year, driven by the growing pipeline of state-backed housing projects and aggressive debt reduction.

Edgar Saavedra, Megawide chairman and chief executive officer, said the company is targeting a net profit of ₱1.2 billion for the full year, up from ₱669 million in 2025, due to optimization of its balance sheet and lower financing costs, which are helping to accelerate earnings growth.

Megawide is leveraging the government’s expanded “4PH” socialized housing initiative to anchor its mid- to long-term performance. The developer is managing a construction order book valued at ₱48.7 billion as of March 2026.

The portfolio comprises mass housing contracts, large-scale commercial and industrial builds, and residential developments under its real estate unit, PH1 World Developers Inc. Roughly 22,000 socialized housing units are currently in various stages of construction.

“We are on track to achieve our back-ended target of ₱1.2 billion net income for the year,” Saavedra said. He expressed confidence that the company’s internal order book and big-ticket external contracts will support healthy operations across the medium term.

The projected profit acceleration follows a 24 percent increase in full-year net income during 2025. Growth momentum carried into the first quarter of 2026, where net profit rose 26 percent year-on-year to ₱266 million.

The financial recovery is heavily tied to the builder’s capital restructuring efforts. Megawide reduced its short-term liabilities by approximately ₱6 billion as of March 2026. The move lowered its bank net debt-to-equity ratio to 0.8 times, compared with 1.1 times at the end of December 2025. 
Megawide estimated the debt reduction will yield between ₱250 million and ₱300 million in interest expense savings for the year.

Saavedra said the capital management strategy centers on a three-pronged framework of delivery, de-leveraging, and de-carbonization introduced three years ago to build a more stable business platform. 
“We purposely focused on these three legs with the intent of building a stronger balance sheet and an ESG-compliant organization,” he said. Saavedra added that additional debt reductions are planned through the rest of the year to enhance liquidity.

Beyond housing, Megawide is expanding its transport-centric development portfolio. The company is currently building the ₱1.2 billion Baguio City Integrated Terminal, the South Luzon Integrated Terminal Exchange, and the Cavite Bus Rapid Transit System to secure long-term recurring revenue streams.

Separately, the board approved a regular cash dividend of ₱0.145 per share, totaling ₱293 million, for common shareholders of record as of July 23, 2026. The ex-dividend date is set for July 22, with disbursement scheduled for Aug. 7, 2026. (James A. Loyola)