Alsons reports 24% decline in net income to P606.7 million

BusinessMirror - November 10, 2014

ALSONS Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) of the Alcantara group on Monday reported a 24-percent decline in its net income to P606.7 million at end-September this year from P739.2 million posted a year ago. Still, the listed firm is expecting to end the year with a 6-percent increase in net income to P891.32 million, from P837.18 million last year.

The company, in a disclosure to the stock exchange, blamed the drop in earnings on higher interest expenses and foreign-exchange losses.

Revenues during the period stood higher by 66 percent to P3.9 billion from P2.3 billion in the same period in 2013, mainly on account of the contribution of the firm’s 103-megawatt (MW) Mapalad Power Corp. (MPC) diesel plant in Iligan City. The MPC plant has been operating for over a year since its reacquisition and rehabilitation by ACR in early 2013.

The Iligan diesel plant currently provides power to the cities of Iligan, General Santos, Zamboanga, Butuan, Bayugan, Dapitan, Dipolog and Pagadian, as well as key areas in the provinces of Sarangani, South Cotabato, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur.

Apart from the MPC plant, ACR currently operates two other diesel power plants in Mindanao. These are the Southern Philippines Power Corp.’s (SPPC) 55-MW plant in Alabel, Sarangani, and the 100-MW Western Mindanao Power Corp. (WMPC) plant in Zamboanga City.

ACR is also developing coal-fired power plants to help provide a stable source of base-load power for Mindanao and ensure long-term power security for the island. These facilities are the 105 MW San Ramon Power Inc. (SRPI) plant in Zamboanga City and the 210-MW Sarangani Energy Corp. (SEC) plant in Maasim, Sarangani.

The SEC plant is one of only two base-load power plants that will be operating by 2015 to help provide a sustainable and lasting solution to the four-year-old Mindanao power shortage. The first 105-MW section of the SEC plant is currently under construction and is already 82-percent complete. It will begin the process of commissioning in May 2015 and will commence operations by October 2015. The SEC plant is expected to reach its full 210-MW capacity by the fourth quarter of 2016 or within the first half of 2017.

Also, ACR will be embarking on renewable-energy projects, particularly in run-of-river hydroelectric plants, as well as solar power. The first of these projects is a 16-MW hydroelectric facility at the Siguil River in Maasim, Sarangani. The Siguil project is currently in the advanced stages of development and is expected to commence construction in 2015.

The Alcantara group, through its other subsidiaries aside from ACR, is also engaged in aquaculture and agribusiness, property development and services. It has been an active player in the economic development of Mindanao and the rest of the Philippines for over 50 years. source

Lenie Lectura, Roderick L. Abad