Foreign contracts prop up Yuchengco construction firm

MANILA, Philippines - Projects overseas offset Yuchengco-led EEI Corp.'s slowdown in the domestic construction projects, pushing the listed company's income by more than a quarter. In a statement, EEI said its net income rose 26.06 percent to P157.1 million from P124.62 million on stronger earnings from overseas operations. While local construction contracts slipped by 20.1 percent to P855.4 million from P1.07 billion, EEI said these "continue to have a healthy outlook." The firm obtained a general contract for the 18-storey Acacia Grove condominium hotel in Alabang, additional packages for the construction of Ramp IV-C of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Villamor Skyway Interchange. It got contracts for electro-mechanical works for the new Biscom Sugar Refinery in Negros and shutdown works for JGC Corp.'s Coral Bay Nickel Mining project in Rio Tuba in Palawan. EEI is constructing the 60-storey twin tower of the St. Francis Shang Towers in Mandaluyong City, 39-storey Mandarin Square building in Binondo, sub-structure and civil works for Globe Asiatique Realty Holdings Corp.'s GA Sky Suites in Quezon City, the Beacon Tower project of Geo Estate Holdings in Makati City and the second phase of the Two Serendra Complex in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig. -GMANews.TV