Megawide Construction Corp. said Monday net income in the first quarter of the year rose 16 percent P635.8 million from P549 million year-on-year on the strong growth of its airport business.
The company said the robust growth of the airport business segment, which now contributes 62 percent to the consolidated net earnings, drove the double-digit increase in net profit. The construction business segment accounted for the balance of 38 percent.
Consolidated revenues reached P4.4 billion, down 7 percent from P4.8 billion in the same period last year.
“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 towards the end of the year,” Megawide chairman and chief executive Edgar Saavedra said.
The construction business segment posted P3.7 billion in revenues, down 11 percent from a year ago. Megawide the lower revenues were due to projects in varying stages of construction in the order book and the scheduled start of new projects booked toward the end of 2017, such as Hampton O&P, Cold Storage Caloocan, 8990 Ortigas, Ascott-DD Meridian Park and Double Dragon Tower Phase 3.
New contracts bagged during the first three months of the year amounted to P13.3 billion, or 124 percent of the total new contracts booked in the full year of 2017.
The majority of awarded projects are from the private sector, including the big-ticket infrastructure project involving the expansion of Clark International Airport. New projects also include Gateway Mall 2 Hotel, Golden Bay Tower, Taft East Gate, and Space Ubelt.
“The push of the government’s Build, Build, Build program is a key revenue driver for our construction business. Given our competitive advantage as a Quadruple A contractor, a concession operator and a fully integrated engineering company, we are in the best position to participate in these projects,” Saavedra said.
Meanwhile, airport operations posted P646.1 million in revenues, 13 percent higher from P569.7 million on year.