Maynilad expects to surpass P1.9-B income target

Maynilad Water Services Inc. (Maynilad) is expecting to surpass its P1.9-billion net income target for 2005 and officials said the company would be able to sustain this performance until the end of the rehabilitation period.

This developed as officials said the company is targeting to complete its privatization by June next year as it finalized plans to hire a financial adviser to draw up the bidding process and terms of reference for the sale of the shares now held by the government.

Maynilad president Fiorelo Estuar said yesterday that the company has presented its proposal to hire a financial adviser that would prepare the privatization plan for the company by middle of 2006.

According to Estuar, the plan was to auction government shares to interested investors who would essentially take over the concession formerly owned by the Lopez group.

Estuar said the process is espected to take between six to seven months before the plan is ready for the auction block.

Already, Estuar said there are two interested groups namely the Consunji-owned DMCI Holdings and the Ayala-owned Manila Water Services Inc.

Estuar said the court receiver, however, has to approve the plan before Maynilad could proceed with hiring a financial adviser. He said the initial proposal has already been submitted to the privatization council for concurrence.

Maynilad, according to Estuar, has been steadily improving its operating performance saying that the company is expected to be able to sustain these improvements until 2006.

"This will make the company even more attractive because now, it has actual value," he said.

Estuar said much of the future prospects of Maynilad hinges on whether it would be able to meet its commitment to reduce non-revenue water (NRW) down to 20 percent by 2008. At present, he said the company’s NRW was at 60 percent, representing water that is used but not paid for.

NRW, Estuar said, was the primary cause of system losses because an estimated 50 percent of water released from the dam was not being billed by Maynilad.