Mla Water unit completes Vietnam proj

MANILA, Philippines - Ayala-led Manila Water Co. Inc. yesterday announced that it has completed a $15-million leakage reduction and management project in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

The six-year project carried out with Saigon Water Corp. (SAWACO) resulted to the reduction of non-revenue water in the city’s Zone 1 by as much as 130,000 cubic meters per day, significantly higher than the water loss reduction target of 37, 500 cubic meters per day.

During the course of the project, 119 district metering areas have been established in Zone 1. Water pressure was also increased in the 140,000 service connections in the zone.

In the country, Manila Water’s non-revenue water reduction programs has brought down water loss in the Metro Manila east zone concession area and Rizal province from a rate of 63 percent in 1997 to 11 percent in 2013.

Aside from Ho Chi Minh City, the city government of Yangon in Myanmar has also tapped Manila Water’s water loss reduction expertise.

Early this year, the company signed an agreement with the Yangon City Development Committee, the administrative body responsible for water management in the city, to develop a leakage reduction program for the area.

Manila Water has several ventures in Vietnam such as Thu Duc Water and Kenh Dong Water and is expanding its presence in the said country through the acquisition last year of a 31.47-percent stake in Vietnam’s Saigon Water Infrastructure Corp. (SII) by its wholly owned subsidiary Manila Water South Asia Holdings Pte. Ltd. SII.

The company also continues to pursue expansion opportunities in Myanmar and Indonesia.

Manila Water registered a six-percent growth in net income in the first nine months of the year on increased billed volume particularly in its Vietnam and Laguna concession areas.

The company posted a net income of P4.55 billion in the first three quarters of the year, up from net earnings of P4.29 billion recorded in the same period last year.

The company’s revenue rose by 27 percent to P12.21 billion from P11.54 billion in the previous year.

It’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) rose by three percent to P8.76 billion from P8.53 billion in the previous year.

Billed volumes rose across all its units with the total billed volume rising by 14 percent to 503.8 million cubic meters (mcm) from 440.3 mcm last year. This includes the service areas run by its local subsidiaries Boracay Island Water, Clark Water and Laguna Water and its Vietnam units Thu Duc Water and Kenh Dong Water.

The billed volume for Laguna Water and Kenh Dong Water grew particularly fast in the first nine months of the year at rates of 183 percent and 523 percent respectively.

The number of water service connections in its main concession area, the Metro Manila East Zone rose by two percent to 943, 624 connections from 921, 898 connections last year.

The number of service connections of Laguna Water rose by a steep 47 percent, those of Boracay Water by eight percent, and those of Clark Water by two percent.

The company still derives most of its income from its Metro Manila east zone concession area that covers parts of Quezon City and Makati, the southeastern parts of Manila, Taguig, Pateros, Marikina, Pasig, San Juan, Mandaluyong, and Rizal province.