Manila Water ends bottled water business
MANILA, Philippines — Manila Water Company Inc. announced the shutdown of its purified water business, citing hefty losses that made sustaining operations in a highly competitive bottled water market difficult.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Wednesday, the Ayala-led water company said the “Healthy Family” will be ended after five years of being in the market. The bottled water brand is sold by Manila Water Total Solutions Corp., a subsidiary.
The subsidiary, nonetheless, will continue to exist despite the closure of Healthy Family and engage in water and wastewater and environmental services.
“While the Healthy Family Business Division has in recent years made strong efforts to improve operations and profitability, the ever-increasing competition in the bottled water industry and the recent economic challenges have proved too difficult to cope and keep the business afloat,” the company said.
Latest financial results showed Healthy Family sold 1.8 million bottles of drinking water in the first six months, down 37% from previous year’s level, following a bleak trend in consumer products as demand was sapped by the pandemic.
Despite initiatives to push for cost efficiency, Healthy Family ended the first half with a net loss of nearly P25 million, albeit narrower than P40.82 million net loss booked in the same period last year.
Losses from bottled water business contributed to the P46 million net loss of Manila Water Total Solutions, which in turn took a heavy toll on the parent firm. Overall, Manila Water closed the first half with measly 1% annual growth in net income to P2.48 billion.
Shares in Manila Water are bucking a decline on Wednesday’s trading. Shares in the firm were up 6.81% to P14.12 each on the stock exchange as of 12:23 p.m.
The rally came on the heels of decision by antitrust regulators to clear tycoon Enrique Razon’s bid to take control of Manila Water, which had been on the receiving end of President Rodrigo Duterte’s attacks and threats. The decision paves for the completion of Razon’s entry last February.
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