MEGAWIDE’S JANUARY-SEPTEMBER NET HITS P1.72B

Construction and engineering firm Megawide Construction Corp. posted P1.72 billion in nine-month net profit, flat from the level seen last year, as higher earnings from airport operations offset lower revenue from construction.

“Megawide’s prospects remain promising with the continued strong growth of the airport business with the opening of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) Terminal 2,” Megaw- ide chair and CEO Edgar Saavedra said in a statement.

Net margin inched up to 13 percent from 12 percent, while cash flow grew by 8 percent year-on-year to P3.6 billion during the nine-month period.

Consolidated revenue fell 10 percent year-on-year to P12.75 billion. The construction segment contributed 81 percent while the airport business, 19 percent.

Airport operations grew revenue by 26 percent year-onyear to P2.18 billion, attributed to the 15-percent rise in passenger volume.

International passengers continued to drive growth, up by 24 percent, outpacing the 11-percent rise in volume of domestic passengers, with the official opening of Mactan International Airport (MCIA) Terminal 2 on July 1.

In the first nine months, MCIA accommodated 8.6 million passengers compared with 7.5 million in the same period last year, as a result of aggressive airline marketing efforts to increase domestic and international flights in and out of Cebu. Currently, MCIA is connected to 35 domestic destinations and 24 international desti- nations, with nine domestic airline partners and 24 international airline partners.

In October, Sichuan Airlines increased flights to Chongqing from four times weekly to daily, while Philippine Airlines increased flights to Nagoya from thrice to four times weekly. Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific will increase flights to Hong Kong from daily to 10 times weekly starting Nov. 26 and flights to Tokyo from four weekly to daily starting Dec. 1. Next month, Cebu Pacific will also start operating four times a week Cebu to Macau flights.