Manila Water Company Inc. said Tuesday it posted consolidated earnings of P5.9 billion in 2022 as customer demand showed notable recovery with the improved mobility and resumption of economic activities in its service areas.
This was shown by the resurgence of its non-residential segments in the East Zone and performance from several domestic Non-East Zone businesses. The recognition of several key items such as the writeback of deferred forex losses and reduction of accounting provisions at the East Zone concession, lent upward impact to net income for the year.
It said the increase in costs and expenses outpaced revenues with the onset of new, recurring costs. Despite these challenges, the company pushed forward with its capital expenditure projects to ensure prudent compliance to regulatory and service commitments, with group capex increasing 36 percent to P22.4 billion for the year.
Consolidated revenues increased 11 percent to P22.8 billion, supported by the recovery of the East Zone’s commercial and industrial accounts and the 30-perccent increase in revenues from Manila Water’s Non-East Zone-Philippines businesses.
Consolidated cost of services and expenses went up 17 percent to P10.8 billion with higher costs in nearly all categories. Fixed costs increased 8 percent, driven by repairs and maintenance costs as postponed activities caught up from previous periods of quarantine restrictions.
The topline recovery enabled consolidated EBITDA to increase 9 percent to P12.8 billion. EBITDA margin was steady at 56 percent.
Manila Water said net income in the East Zone concession went up 52 percent to P5.5 billion, driven by higher revenues. Revenue recovery was mainly supported by the non-residential segment and higher connection fees, as well as cross border charges.