MANILA WATER Co., Inc. posted a 16% decrease in 2019 net income to P5.5 billion, saying its performance was dampened by the impact of a regulatory penalty, a one-time bill waiver, and higher expenses caused by the water shortage in the first half.
“These challenges were coupled with the continued management of the constrained raw water supply and additional expenses for potential exposures,” the Ayala-led company told the stock exchange on Friday.
Metro Manila’s east zone water concessionaire said that faced with these challenges, it continued to work towards operating efficiency. It reconfigured its distribution network operations to provide reliable service.
In 2019, operating revenues rose 11% to P21.95 billion, while operating costs and expenses climbed 22% to P9.83 billion.
The company said it derived 75% of its operating revenues from the sale of water, net of the bill waiver, while 16% came from environmental and sewer charges.
The increase in cost and expenses was largely because of the penalty imposed by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System in relation to the water shortage in the first half.
Manila Water said its performance last year was backed by the contribution of its domestic subsidiaries, with Manila Water Philippine Ventures, Inc. (MWPV) recording a net income of P450 million, up 131% from the previous year. It said the main drivers were Estate Water, Laguna Water, and Boracay Water.
It said on a consolidated MWPV level, revenues rose by 45% to P4.85 billion.
“A significant contributor to this improvement was the higher revenues of Estate Water coming mostly from its supervision fees for the provision of design and project management services in the development of water and used water facilities,” Manila Water said.
It also said that portions of the increase in revenues were due to higher average tariff levels in Boracay Water and Laguna Water.
“Several subsidiaries also saw increases in billed volume during the year, namely Boracay Water and Estate Water, with the re-influx of tourists and the takeover of more property development projects, respectively,” it said.
On Friday, shares in Manila Water fell by 3.13% to close at P11.76 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
