Manila Water inks P15 billion loan deal with Metrobank

MANILA, Philippines — East Zone concessionaire Manila Water Co. Inc. has borrowed P15 billion from Ty-led Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) to finance its capital expenditure.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Manila Water, owned by billionaire Enrique Razon, said it signed a 10-year term loan facility with Metrobank for its financing needs.

The water utility firm earlier reported that its capital expenditures as of end-September reached P16.7 billion with the East Zone concession accounting for majority or P15.1 billion.

Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) data showed Manila Water targets to spend P21.65 billion for its capex this year.

Manila Water spent P15.59 billion in capex as of November based on the monitoring earlier released by the MWSS.

MWSS data showed the water utility firm spent P6.04 billion for water security projects and P5.7 billion for service accessibility projects.

Furthermore, the company spent P2.35 billion for its environmental sustainability projects and P1.5 billion for service continuity projects.

The East Zone concessionaire has spent P32.67 billion from 2023 to 2024, representing 81 percent of its target capex of P40.42 billion during the two-year period.

Manila Water posted a 39-percent jump in its net income in the nine months ending September, driven by the double-digit increase in revenues on the back of higher tariff and billed volume.

The company said its net income reached P10.1 billion from January to September, P2.84 billion higher than last year’s P7.26 billion.

The water utility firm posted a 19 percent increase in revenues to P27.55 billion from last year’s P23.14 billion.

The increase in revenues was attributed to a 20-percent jump in the firm’s average tariff and higher billed volume growth within the firm’s East Zone jurisdiction.