MPIC says income surges 89.7% to P19.9 billion

METRO PACIFIC Investments Corp. (MPIC) is expecting a double-digit profit for 2024 after its attributable net income surged to P19.92 billion last year, its chairman said on Wednesday.

“All of our core business segments performed consistently well in 2023. Meralco’s power generation business is becoming a steady contributor to its growth with promising expansion opportunities in the pipeline, traffic on our toll roads under MPTC (Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.) is rising by double digits, and Maynilad is benefiting from the catch-up of delayed tariff increases,” Manuel V. Pangilinan, MPIC chairman, president, and chief executive officer, said during a briefing.

MPIC’s 2023 attributable net income, which includes nonrecurring items, climbed by 89.7% to P19.92 billion from P10.5 billion last year as all of its business segments such as power, toll roads, and water business posted growth, Mr. Pangilinan said.

Among its core business segments, power pushed MPIC’s growth as its Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) had a 62% share in its net operating income of P15.2 billion, while MPTC, the company’s toll road business, had a P5.79 billion share and water at P4.38 billion. 

To recall, Meralco’s core net income, which includes one-time charges, ballooned to P37.1 billion in 2023, marking a 37% increase from the same period a year earlier. 

MPTC’s core net income expanded by 2% to P5.8 billion on revenue growth, said Chaye Cabal-Revilla, MPIC’s chief finance officer.

Maynilad Water Services, Inc.’s core net income also went up by 51% to P9.1 billion on lower operating costs.

In 2023, MPIC’s operating revenues went up to P61.33 billion, 20.5% higher than the P50.88 billion revenues in the same period in 2022. 

Its group-wide aggregate revenues for the full year of 2023 grew by 7% to P553.3 billion from P519.2 billion in the same period a year ago.

CAPEX
For 2024, MPIC is setting aside P140 billion for its capital expenditure (capex) budget, mainly for its power business, Ms. Revilla ��������.��

The company has allocated about P41 billion for Meralco, P31.4 billion for Maynilad, and P28 billion for MPTC, she said.

Its target budget will be funded by a combination of loans and internally generated funds.

“We are working hard to make 2024 another banner year for MPIC and our operating companies on the expectation that greater private sector participation in infrastructure development will help propel our nation to higher growth in the near term and further ahead,” Mr. Pangilinan ��������.��

For this year, MPIC is anticipating a double-digit income growth fueled by its power business.  

“Power will still contribute consistently,” Ms. Revilla said.

MPIC is one of the three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority share in ����ý through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Ashley Erika O. Jose