Manila Water reported that its earnings jumped by 25 percent to nearly P12.6 billion in January to September.
In a statement, Manila Water said the continued topline growth momentum in the company’s East Zone Concession and Non-East Zone Philippines (NEZ PH) businesses was the primary driver for the strong performance.
With further support from continued initiatives aimed at improving operating efficiency and productivity, Manila Water posted a 14 growth in EBITDA, surpassing P21 billion. This translates to a three-percentage-point improvement in EBITDA margin from last year, to reach 73 percent the company said.
During the period, Manila Water recognized a gain of P1.1 billion from the sale of its investment in East Water in Thailand. Excluding one-offs, core net income increased by 15 percent at P11.6 billion, with core net income margin improving by 2 percentage points to 39 percent.
For Manila Water’s East Zone Concession, revenues similarly increased by double-digits to reach P24 billion for the period, driven primarily by the implementation of the 3rd tranche of the approved Rate Rebasing tariff adjustment in January 2025.
Meanwhile, water demand saw a 1-percent decline in billed volume with lower consumption from residential customers with lower reading days, as well as lower cross-border volume.
Expenditures related to technology platform costs drove operating expenses for the period, but overall, were offset by efficiencies realized in power and other direct costs. These kept total costs muted at a 1-percent growth to P5.9 billion. EBITDA increased by 14 percent to P18.2 billion, with EBITDA margin improving by 2 percentage points to 75 percent.
Beyond the East Zone Concession, the company’s businesses across the rest of the country saw earnings growth of 11 percent to reach P852 million in net income for the period, driven by strong contributions from several of its key business units, by way of implemented tariff adjustments and a 5-percent increase in total billed volume.
The company said the main contributors during the period are several of the group’s core domestic businesses, namely Clark Water, Estate Water, as well as several subsidiaries operating in Visayas-Mindanao, namely Boracay Water, Cebu Water, and Tagum Water in Davao.
This solid performance pushed revenues up by 8 percent to P7 billion, resulting in a 5-percent improvement in net income to P1.1 billion. For Manila Water International, equity share in net income jumped significantly to P1.1 billion. This was driven mainly by the gain on the sale of the East Water investment, which was fully impaired in prior years.
Manila Water continued to invest in critical infrastructure towards the fulfillment of its regulatory and service commitments. Group-wide capital expenditures (capex) reached nearly P18 billion in January to September, with the East Zone Concession accounting for 85 percent of total capex at P14.9 billion.
Manila Water President and CEO Jocot de Dios is encouraged by the solid performance of the business units, even as the company begins to see significant benefits from its disciplined management of its portfolio and its deliberate approach to new business growth.
‘We are happy to see that the foundation laid for efficient and responsible operations, both within and outside our Metro Manila Concession, is lending towards the resilient performance we are seeing in our businesses. Equally important, our disciplined approach to managing our portfolio is now beginning to bear fruit.
We will continue to exercise the same rigor and discipline in running our existing businesses and in identifying new business opportunities. We know full well that the consistency by which we execute our strategy is what will enable us to deliver sustainable value to our shareholders and stakeholders.’