MPIC profit jumps 15%

Infrastructure holding firm Metro Pacific Investments Corp. grew its net profit last year by 15 percent to P13.2 billion on higher earnings contribution from its power, toll roads, water and hospital businesses.

Excluding nonrecurring items, MPIC’s core profit in 2017 rose by 17 percent to P14.1 billion.

Power contributed 52 percent of MPIC’s total business, up from 48 percent in the previous year. The toll road business accounted for 22 percent while water accounted for 21 percent. The hospital and other businesses had a cumulative share of 5 percent.

In a briefing, MPIC president Jose Ma. Lim said the group’s core profit was boosted by an expanded power portfolio following further investment in Beacon Electric Asset Holdings Inc.; a strong traffic growth on all roads under Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., and the hospital group’s sustained growth.

One-off items that accounted for the difference between core and headline profit included a nonrecurring expense of P953 million, up from P650 million a year earlier, consisting of refinancing expenses, project expenses and separation costs arising from a redundancy program at Maynilad Water Services Inc. These were offset by gains on sale of Manila Electric Co. shares.

“MPIC’s group-wide capital expenditure in 2017 was P38 billion, all of it contributing to the fabric of our nation and enhancing our capacity to serve the public. In addition, we invested P38.9 billion in deepening our participation in the power sector and expanding into new markets including Indonesia,” Lim said.

Meralco’s core net income last year rose by 3 percent to P20.2 billion, on the back of a 5-percent rise in energy sales.

Metro Pacific Tollways grew its core profit last year by 20 percent to P3.9 billion. System-wide vehicular volume surged by 64 percent to 903,525 per day, mainly due to its investment in Indonesian toll road operator PT Nusantara Infrastructure Tbk.

The hospital group’s contribution to MPIC’s core net income also grew by 16 percent to P685 million in 2017. It now operates 14 hospitals nationwide.

Maynilad’s core net income rose by 3 percent to P7.4 billion. Revenue rose by 3 percent to P20.8 billion while volume sold was up by 3 percent to 511.7 million cubic meters.