Maynilad outruns a falling market as P10-billion water upgrades meet El Niño

Maynilad Water Services closed at P17 a share on Friday, up 0.6% from P16.90 a week earlier, while the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 0.8% and the industrials sector managed only a 0.3% gain, according to Philippine Stock Exchange data. The utility was the 12th most actively traded stock of the week, with 30.02 million shares worth P523.64 million changing hands.

Juan Alfonso G. Teodoro, an equity trader at Timson Securities, said the company's spending on water treatment, storage and supply diversification may have drawn buyers as investors weigh drier conditions linked to El Niño. "I believe this helped attract investor interest and gave the market more confidence in the company's ability to handle future challenges," he said.

Maynilad said on 27 October that it had carried out nearly P10 billion of rehabilitation and improvement works at its La Mesa facilities over several years. Upgrades to La Mesa Water Treatment Plant 1 raised its peak raw water turbidity design capability to 2,000 nephelometric turbidity units from about 300, with similar work under way at Plant 2. Three water recovery and raw water augmentation systems are designed to deliver a combined 125 million to 170 million litres a day once fully operational; two are running and the third is targeted for December. Former sludge lagoons have been converted into raw water reservoirs.

"The P10-billion investment also shows its commitment to improving its facilities for the long term," Teodoro said, adding that efforts to cut water losses and dependence on Angat Dam, including sources drawn from Laguna Lake, may also have encouraged investors. He called El Niño both a challenge and an opportunity: reduced rainfall could limit supply and raise operating costs, but it also underlines the value of treatment and alternative-source investment. "For me, it could be more of a long-term opportunity for the company," he said.

Maynilad's net income rose 14% to P8.51 billion in the first half of 2026 from P7.47 billion a year earlier, on revenue up 4.1% to P19.11 billion. Teodoro projected third-quarter net income of about P4.3 billion and P17.3 billion for the full year, and placed support at P16.50 to P16.60 with resistance at P18 to P19. Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which holds a majority stake in Maynilad, is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd.