Maynilad Water Services Inc. grew its first-half net income by 14 percent to P8.51 billion as stronger operations, higher water sales and improving network efficiency lifted earnings.

The company said Tuesday net income increased from P7.47 billion a year earlier, mainly due to lower interest expense and taxes, more than offsetting higher operating costs.

Increase in revenues

Revenues rose 4.1 percent to P19.11 billion from P18.35 billion in the same period last year, driven by a 2.9 percent increase in billed volume to 280.8 million cubic meters and continued customer growth. Total billed connections climbed 1.6 percent to 1.59 million.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased 7.5 percent to P13.70 billion, while EBITDA margin improved to 71.7 percent from 69.4 percent, supported by lower non-revenue water (NRW) and ongoing cost-control measures.

Investments

The utility also stepped up investments during the period, with capital expenditures rising 18.9 percent to P12.89 billion from P10.85 billion a year earlier.

The spending funded upgrades to water and wastewater infrastructure, production facilities, network reliability and customer service.

Operational performance also improved across key metrics. Service coverage increased to 94.99 percent from 94.76 percent a year earlier, while 24-hour water availability at a minimum pressure of seven pounds per square inch reached 92.1 percent.

Maynilad further reduced NRW to 29.7 percent as of end-June from 35.25 percent a year earlier, while expanding wastewater coverage to 88 percent from 85 percent.

Sewerage coverage rose to 26 percent from 25 percent, while sanitation coverage improved to 62 percent from 60 percent. The number of accounts receiving sanitation services increased 7.9 percent to 200,577, while the number of septic tanks emptied grew 10.7 percent to 55,825.