Conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) expects full-year core net income to exceed P20 billion this year after the strong first-half results, a top executive said Monday.
MPIC chief finance officer June Cheryl Cabal-Revilla said in a news briefing the more than P20-billion core net income for 2024 would exceed the company’s record income of P19.9 billion in 2023.
MPIC’s core net income reached P12.5 billion in the first half, up 27 percent from P9.9 billion registered in the same period last year on strong contribution from core infrastructure businesses.
Income from operations reached P14.8 billion, fueled by strong growth in energy sales at Manila Electric Co., billed volume from Maynilad Water Services Inc. and increased traffic and tariff on tollways.
Power accounted for the largest share of net operating income at P10.1 billion, followed by toll roads and water which contributed P3.2 billion and P2.5 billion, respectively.
Reported net income rose 23 percent to P12.5 billion from P10.2 percent.
MPIC’s toll road unit Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. registered a 25-percent increase in core net income to P3.4 billion, as revenues grew 18 percent to P15.4 billion on toll rate hikes and growth in traffic in all markets.
Maynilad Water Services Inc. revenues amounted to P16.4 billion, up 29 percent from a year ago, boosted by a 4-percent growth in billed volume and 19.8-percent increase in tariff rate implemented early this year. Core net income rose 29 percent to P5.6 billion.
MPIC also continues to ramp up its investments in agri-business with the recent acquisition of Universal Harvester Dairy Farms Inc. (UHDFI) worth P700 million.
UHDFI, located in Maramag, Bukidnon, operates under the Bukidnon Milk Company brand, producing fresh milk, flavored milk, yogurt, and cheese products, with presence primarily focused on key cities in Visayas and Mindanao.
It is the largest state-of-the-art dairy production facility in the country.
“Our power, toll roads, and water business 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 chief executive Manuel Pangilinan.
“With MPIC continuing to maintain a low cost of capital in a rising interest rate environment, the company is poised to maintain its strong growth trajectory for the rest of the year,” he said.
