Conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) on Wednesday said its consolidated core net income for the first quarter declined 26 percent to P2.5 billion from last year’s P3.4 billion mainly due to quarantine restrictions which constrained economic activity.
MPIC’s consolidated reported attributable net income rose more than tripled to P7 billion in the first quarter from last year’s P1.89 billion as it benefitted from the sale of Global Business Power and Don Muang Tollways.
Group-wide revenues slid 6 percent to P85.6 billion, some P3.8 billion of which was MPIC’s share in operating core income.
Power accounted for P2.5 billion or 66 percent of the total, toll roads contributed P0.8 billion or 21 percent, water contributed P0.5 billion or 14 percent and other businesses, mainly hospitals, light rail, and logistics, incurred an overall loss of P49 million.
“Consequently, while we remain committed to our ongoing priority projects, we have also recalibrated our capital expenditure plans for the year and have decided to defer or discontinue previously announced discretionary investments. This will allow us to focus more on investments that will enable economic growth from infrastructure development without putting additional strain on future our cash flows,” Jose Ma. K. Lim, the company’s president and CEO, said.
Core income of power distributor Manila Electric Co. fell 11 percent to P5.1 billion, driven by lower energy sales, lower interest income on cash investments, and higher operating expenses.
Global Business Power’s income grew 19 percent to P522 million, despite the 10-percent fall in revenues to P5 billion, mainly as a result of the lower income taxes from the implementation of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE).
Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.’s core net income dropped 15 percent to P788 million because of the decrease in traffic volumes, higher interest expense and amortization from expanded capital expenditure initiatives in the construction of new roads. There was also the reduction in contribution from international toll roads owing to the divestment of Don Muang Tollways in Thailand in February.
Revenues declined 1 percent to P4.2 billion due to reduced traffic stemming from mobility restrictions.
West zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc.’s core net income fell 24 percent to P1.2 billion. Revenues declined 6 percent to P5.3 billion reflecting lower average tariffs. Residential demand at a lower average tariff remained strong and continued to offset lower demand in commerce and industry with the implementation of stricter quarantine measures, the company said.
Light Rail Manila Corp., the operator of LRT 1 and LRT 2, incurred losses of P104 million for the period as revenues declined 57 percent to P302 million due to reductions in capacity as a result of the implementation of physical distancing protocols.
Average daily ridership declined by 68 percent to 136,520 compared with 422,703 a year earlier owing to a cap of 30 percent on overall ridership capacity.
Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings Inc. reported an income of P285 million, some 6 percent higher than last year’s driven by the growth in revenues, which was further augmented by the positive impact of the tax reduction from CREATE.
Revenues increased 14 percent to P4.5 billion driven largely by the growth in Covid-19 admissions and testing.
In-patient admissions dropped 42 percent to 24,508 while out-patient visits fell 14 percent to 751,895. These reductions were made up for by higher revenues per patient due to more complex engagements of Covid-19, the company said.