Aboitiz registers net profit of P16b

Manila Standard Today
by Alena Mae S. Flores


Listed Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. registered a consolidated net income of P16 billion in the first nine months of the year, down 5 percent year-on-year, due to slightly lower contribution from its power business.


The power group continued to account for the bulk of Aboitiz Equity’s net income at 77 percent, followed by the banking and food subsidiaries, which contributed 17 percent and 6 percent, respectively.


Aboitiz Power Corp. posted a net income of P16.2 billion, down 12 percent year-on-year, due to a decline in electricity prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market. The nine-month profit translates into an earnings per share of P2.21.


For the third quarter alone, Aboitiz Power recorded a consolidated net income of P5.6 billion in the third quarter, down 3 percent year-on-year.


Aboitiz Power’s core net income for the third quarter, however, reached P5.6 billion, or up 10 percent on year.


“Our power generation and distribution businesses have continued to show strong recurring income for the quarter,” Aboitiz Power president and chief executive Erramon Aboitiz said.


Aboitiz Equity attributed the decline in Aboitiz Power’s bottom line to the lower average selling price and net generation.


Aboitiz Power’s generation business logged a 10-percent drop in average selling prices, amid the softening of the spot market prices against 2010 levels.


The average price of electricity in the WESM in the first nine months dropped 48 percent year-on-year.