|
METRO Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) has returned
to profitability on gains from its water unit, real- estate
businesses, and healthcare investment, fueling plans of venturing
into infrastructure, hotel operations and mining.
In a statement, the publicly held
company reported that its net income last year reached P167.9
million, a turnaround from the previous year’s net loss of P685.9
million. Core profit, which excludes non-recurring items, reached
P194.9 million, a reversal from losses of P25.4 million in 2006.
“Now that MPIC is once again
profitable, the focus of the company can be redirected towards
identifying and pursuing opportunities in the areas of natural
resources, infrastructure, healthcare and hotel business,” Manuel
V. Pangilinan, MPIC chairman said.
“Growth in our investment
portfolio as well as in contribution from Maynilad, Landco and
Makati Medical should raise MPIC’s core net income in 2008
compared with 2007,” he added.
The firm credits its performance
to Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Landco Pacific Corp. Maynilad
posted a net income of P1.25 billion and contributed P679.9 million
to its parent’s core earnings for the year.
For its part, Landco’s
contribution to grew by 88 percent to P139.4 million as the
real-estate firm registered a P261.2-million profit, a turnaround
from its P12.9-million net loss in 2006.
Medical Doctors Inc. (MDI), which
owns and operates Makati Medical Center, also turned in P10.8
million, reflecting the parent company’s 7.5 percent equitized
income from the hospital. MDI’s net income rose by 20.3 percent to
P268.5 million year on year on the back of the increases in its
hospital services and educational services’ revenue contribution
to P2.94 billion and P83.5 million, respectively.
--Likha C. Cuevas-Miel and Katrina Mennen A. Valdez
|
