Power plants to boost Semirara

Manila Standard Today
Sunday, 01 April, 2012 Written by Lailany P. Gomez


Increased revenues from power plant operations will boost the operations of Semirara Mining Corp. this year, chief executive Isidro Consunji said over the weekend.


Consunji said net profit of Semirara, the biggest domestic coal producer and exporter in the country, would reach between P6.6 billion and P6.9 billion this year, up 10 percent to 15 percent from P6 billion in 2011.


“We are hopeful the two power plants will be operational, supposedly this May. They should produce more power this year than last year,” Consunji said, referring to the operation of a 300-megawatt coal-fired thermal power plant project in Batangas and the complete rehabilitation of the other unit. The Calaca power complex has a capacity of 600 MW.


The company earlier reported audited consolidated net income of P6 billion in 2011, up 52 percent from P3.95 billion in 2010.


Semirara’s coal output is projected to reach 7 million tons this year, or almost the same as last year’s, Consunji said.


“Last year we sold more coal locally because the local demand is improving,” he said.


Semirara’s coal mining operations in Antique remain the biggest in the country with a yearly production of about 7.19 million metric tons. It exported some of its production, mostly to China at 2.68 million MT and Thailand at 54,754 MT.


Semirara’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp., had signed a loan agreement with Banco De Oro Unibank Inc., Bank of the Philippine Islands and China Banking Corp. amounting to P11.5 billion to finance the expansion of the Calaca coal-fired power plant in Batangas. BDO Capital and Investments Corp. acted as lead arranger.


(Published in the Manila Standard Today newspaper on /2012/April/2)