Construction firm D.M. Consunji Inc. (DMCI) on Monday said its order book rose 20 percent to P42.4 billion in the first quarter from the P35.2 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The increase was largely due to the awarding of the South Commuter Railway Project, contract package 2. The project is a joint venture between DMCI and Acciona Construction Philippines.
Costing over P28 billion, the project involves the construction of railway tracks and stations along España, Sta. Mesa and Paco, and will take roughly four and a half years to complete.
“DMCI’s participation in the joint venture is around 35 percent. In addition to construction revenues, we also expect to generate collateral business for our ready-mix concrete, equipment rental and steel fabrication units,” DMCI President and CEO Jorge A. Consunji said.
Year-on-year, however, the DMCI order book declined by 9 percent from the previous year’s P46.7 billion owing to the completion of several projects and the exclusion of North South Commuter Rail (NSCR) contract package 1. The said project is a joint venture with Taisei Corp. of Japan.
Current obstructions prevented access, possession, and handover of the NSCR construction site, which resulted in the exclusion of work valued at P7 billion from the project pipeline.
“We’re expecting equitable compensation for the descoping, which is a standard contract condition in construction projects. Negotiations are underway, and a resolution should be reached in the next few months,” Consunji said.
The said project will be up for bidding again once the right of way issues have been resolved.
Aside from South Commuter Railway, contract package 2, other projects in the DMCI order book include the Dinapigue Causeway expansion, Xavier Junior High School Building, YCO Manila site early works and dredging and hauling of lagoon in the La Mesa Water Treatment plant.
For the first quarter, DMCI reported a standalone net income of P263 million, a 26-percent drop from P355 million because of lower construction accomplishment and fewer projects in the pipeline.
