DMCI bags P4.5-B new deals as construction activity picks up

MANILA, Philippines — Listed builder DMCI Holdings Inc. bagged over P4 billion in new contracts in the past three quarters, as construction activities gather steam amid easing coronavirus restrictions.

In the first nine months, DMCI secured P4.5 billion worth of new contracts and received P2.6 billion to provide additional work for ongoing projects, the Consunji-led company told the stock exchange on Monday.

This raised the company’s total order book to P51.7 billion, albeit down 18.5% compared with a year ago when DMCI had an order book of P63.4 billion — of which P958 million was a newly-awarded project and P245 million were change orders.

Much of the new contracts that DMCI won during the period were from the government, which has been picking up the slack from weak private construction activities as the pandemic drags on. Latest government data showed the state spent P757.6 billion on capital outlays, which included infrastructure items, in the first eight months, up 47.5% year-on-year.

“Private construction remains sluggish because of weak economic conditions. Bidding for big-ticket infrastructure projects is starting to pick up, and we hope to benefit from this soon,” Jorge Consunji, company president and CEO, said in a statement.

The new contracts helped DMCI return to black. In the first nine months, the company reported a net income of P785 million, reversing losses a year ago amounting to P76 million.

“The dramatic rebound was mainly attributable to higher construction accomplishments owing to easing quarantine restrictions and lower extraordinary costs related to COVID-19 containment,” the company said.

A mixed bag of ongoing private and public projects in DMCI’s portfolio include North South Commuter Railway (viaduct and depot), NLEX-SLEX Connector Road (section 1), Skyway Stage 3 Quirino Ramp, Poblacion Water Treatment Plant, CAMANA Water Reclamation Facility, The Estate Makati, Empress and Maven at Capitol Commons, among others.

Major contracts that DMCI recently completed include the Anchor Piers for Cebu Cordova Link Expressway together with Acciona of Spain, Ikea Pasay City together with SM Prime, Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Mamplasan to Silang East), among others. 

Shares in DMCI fell 1.16% to close at P7.70 each, tracking losses in the main index.