Metro Pacific Investments Corp., the flagship unit of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., said Thursday net income in the first nine months climbed 30-percent year-on-year, as all core businesses reported strong growth.
Metro Pacific president and chief executive Jose Ma. Lim said earnings and the company’s ability to finance infrastructure investments would have been stronger, if the company had been able to get the much-delayed tariff adjustments for water and toll businesses.
Metro Pacific’s net income in the nine-month period reached P7.8 billion, up from P6 billion a year ago. Core net income also grew 28 percent to P8.2 billion from P6.5 billion in the same period last year.
“We are struggling uphill in toll roads and water against regulators who won’t follow the rules they agreed to themselves. It is no wonder that investment in our great country is lagging behind its needs,” Lim said.
Metro Pacific said the rise in core net income was due mainly to strong traffic growth on all the roads held by Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., increased shareholding in Manila North Tollways Corp. and growth in billed volume of Maynilad Water Services Inc.