Megawide reports 8% Q1 profit increase

Engineering and infrastructure group Megawide Construction Corp. grew its attributable first quarter net profit by 8 percent year-on-year to P475.29 million, driven by increased contribution from its Cebu airport operations.

Including net income attributable to non-controlling interest, Megawide’s first quarter net profit rose by 16 percent year-on-year to P635.8 million.

The airport business segment contributes 62 percent of consolidated net earnings while the construction business segment accounts for 38 percent.

Consolidated revenue hit P4.4 billion, with the construction business contributing 84 percent of total, while the airport accounted for the balance of 16 percent. First quarter revenue was 7 percent lower year-on-year, attributed to the cyclical nature of the construction business segment.

“We are optimistic about the company’s growth prospects in 2018 with the increasing contribution from our airport business and the expected pick up of our construction business toward the end of the year,” Megawide chair and CEO Edgar Saavedra said.

The construction business posted P3.7 billion in revenue, down 11 percent from a year ago. This was due to projects in varying stages of construction in the order book and the scheduled start of construction for new projects booked toward the end of 2017.

New contracts bagged in the first three months of the year hit P13.3 billion, 124 percent of the total new contracts booked in 2017.

The majority of awarded deals involved private sector projects with one big-ticket infrastructure project to construct the expansion of Clark International Airport. New projects include Gateway Mall 2 Hotel, Golden Bay Tower, Taft East Gate and Space Ubelt.