By James A. Loyola Diversified engineering conglomerate DMCI Holdings, Inc. reported that its earnings declined 11 percent to ₱9.3 billion in the first nine months of 2019 from ₱10.4 billion in the same period last year. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said this is due to lower income contributions from Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC), D.M. Consunji, Inc. (DMCI) and DMCI Mining Corporation. For the third quarter alone, DMCI Holdings booked a 47 percent jump in net income to ₱2.8 billion from ₱1.9 billion a year earlier. The double-digit improvement was mainly attributable to the normalized coal operations of SMPC compared to last year when heavy rains in July and August caused a production slowdown. “We had a strong third quarter but we still expect negative growth for the full-year because of the scheduled shutdown of Calaca Units 1 and 2, low coal prices and lower construction accomplishments in our real estate business,” said DMCI Holdings Chairman and President Isidro A. Consunji. For the first nine months, core net income contributions from SMPC dropped 14 percent year-on-year to P4.7 billion following a 17 percent decline in power generation and a 22 percent drop in coal prices. DMCI Homes contributed P1.8 billion core income, flat compared to the same period last year due to lower percentage of completion in ongoing projects. Core net income contributions from affiliate Maynilad Water Services, Inc. while net income contributions from DMCI declined by 30 percent to P664 million as a result of right-of-way acquisition delays and the absence of variation orders realized from projects nearing completion. Off-grid energy business DMCI Power Corporation contributed P341 million as DMCI Mining recorded a 35 percent decline in net income contributions to P87 million as the company shipped more lower-grade nickel at lower average selling price.