Higher operating costs and weaker contributions from associates, particularly aircraft maintenance unit Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP), dragged down MacroAsia Corp.’s nine-month net income attributable to parent-company shareholders by 45 percent to P560.4 million, despite revenue growth across its food services, airport ground handling and water businesses.
Consolidated net income, which includes earnings attributable to non-controlling interests, fell 42 percent to P669.6 million in the January-to-September period from P1.16 billion a year earlier.
Consolidated revenues rose 4.7 percent to P7.76 billion from P7.41 billion, but direct costs increased 8.6 percent to P6.36 billion, squeezing gross profit by 10 percent to P1.4 billion.
Operating expenses also climbed 9.5 percent to P1.28 billion, while the company’s share in earnings of associates dropped 29.8 percent to P680.9 million.
Basic earnings per share declined to P0.30 from P0.54.
MacroAsia said cost pressures included higher raw material and operating inputs, the full-period impact of previous wage adjustments, and increased airport lease and facility charges.
Lower contributions from LTP and Japan Airport Service Co. also weighed on earnings. LTP incurred restructuring expenses after discontinuing its line-maintenance operations, while higher lease costs under revised arrangements at its NAIA facility continue to burden profitability.
The distinction is significant, as restructuring expenses are expected to ease, but recurring lease charges and broader inflation-related costs will require continuing operational improvements and customer rate adjustments.
Third-quarter consolidated net income fell to P123.1 million from P384.3 million a year earlier, as gross profit dropped to P350.2 million and earnings contributions from associates declined to P224.8 million.
Despite the earnings contraction, MacroAsia’s core businesses continued to expand. Food services revenue increased 9 percent to P3.87 billion, supported by a 19-percent increase in meal volumes to 23.33 million. Ground handling and aviation services revenue rose 5 percent to P3.28 billion despite a 5-percent decline in handled flights. Water operations grew 6 percent to P569.7 million, with billed water volume increasing 13 percent.
President and chief operating officer Eduardo Luis T. Luy said the company was adjusting its aviation-related operations to address higher lease rates and improve efficiency, while pursuing margin recovery through pricing adjustments, productivity measures, centralized procurement and shared services.
MacroAsia is also committing capital to expand its capacity and diversify its revenue base, although the projects will take time to contribute meaningfully to earnings.
These include a P2-billion surface water facility in Pototan, Iloilo, designed to supply 50 million liters daily, and a 20-million-liter-per-day seawater desalination plant in Punta Engaño, Cebu, targeted to begin commercial operations by yearend.
Its P1.2-billion commissary expansion in Muntinlupa is expected to raise production capacity to 90,000 meals daily when completed in the first quarter of 2027.
The company said it would maintain disciplined capital spending, cash generation and working-capital management as it navigates continuing cost pressures and works toward restoring margins.
