Maynilad first-quarter profit rose 10% to P4B
Maynilad Water Services Inc. started the year with a 10-percent rise in its first-quarter net income, thanks to stronger billed volume and a growing customer base.
The concessionaire of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System’s West Zone service area said its earnings reached P4 billion from P3.6 billion a year ago.
Maynilad’s top line also improved by 6.2 percent to P9.1 billion from P8.6 billion.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization stood at P6.5 billion, 7.6 percent higher year-on-year.
“Our first quarter results reflect steady execution across both our operations and investment programs,” said Maynilad president and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez.
“We continue to see improvements in service reliability and water availability, while sustaining strong financial performance,” he added.
Total billed connections went up by 1.5 percent to 1.58 million.
Billed volume rose by 2.3 percent to 136.1 million cubic meters.
Maynilad also reduced its non-revenue water to 30.7 percent from 36.2 percent. This, as it conducted more leak detection, pipe replacement and network optimization efforts.
Cutting water losses allows providers, like Maynilad, to make more treated water available to customers without immediately developing new water sources.
For the January to March period, Maynilad spent P5.4 billion, up 11.6 percent from P4.9 billion. The bulk of spending was invested in wastewater treatment expansion.
“As we move forward, our focus remains on strengthening the system, reducing losses, and ensuring that our investments translate into better service for our customers,” Fernandez said.
Maynilad’s concession covers 17 cities and towns in Metro Manila and Cavite.
The firm was earlier slapped with a P54.28-million fine over its failure to provide uninterrupted services for more than 165,000 customers last March.
Maynilad said the supply disruptions experienced during the period were tied to challenging water conditions in Laguna de Bay during the Amihan season. This prompted its facilities to make adjustments, dragging down production levels.
