DMCI income flat last year

MANILA, Philippines - DMCI Holdings Inc., the diversified engineering conglomerate, reported a flat core net income of P12.1 billion last year due to lower contributions from real estate and water businesses as well as the suspension of its mining operations in Palawan and Zambales.

“The double-digit growth of our energy and construction businesses were offset by the sharp drop in profitability of DMCI Homes, DMCI Mining and Maynilad,” said DMCI Holdings chairman and president Isidro Consunji.

 Semirara Mining and Power Corp. reported an all-time high consolidated net income of P12 billion last year as coal and power sales grew. This resulted in a 43 percent year-on-year improvement in income contribution to DMCI Holdings to P6.9 billion.

On the other hand, net income contributions from DMCI Homes and Maynilad fell 46 percent and 19 percent, respectively. Both firms contributed P1.9 billion.

Consunji attributed the slump in earnings of DMCI Homes to deferred recognition of revenues from completed high-rise projects.

However,  sales and reservation numbers of DMCI Homes hit a historic high of 8,236 units,  55 percent higher than the year ago.

For Maynilad, the expiration of its income tax holiday in December 2015 pulled down the water company’s profitability.

On the other hand, construction company D.M. Consunji Inc. reported a 49 percent jump in net income to P938 million.

Off-grid supplier DMCI Power Corp. earned P424 million, up 11 percent year on year. Higher electricity sales in Masbate and Palawan, coupled with the full-year operations of its 15.6MW bunker-fired plant in Oriental Mindoro accounted for the growth, the company said.

However, the suspension of DMCI Mining’s nickel assets, combined with receding nickel prices and sluggish demand for lower-grade nickel, led to a 113 percent decline in profitability.

As such, DMCI Mining posted a full year net loss of P65 million from a full-year net income of P501 million in 2015.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources ordered the suspension of Berong Nickel Corp. in June because of the alleged discoloration of Bgy. Berong’s river system.