Sarangani plant to boost Alsons income

by Myrna Velasco May 30, 2016 (updated)

http://www.mb.com.ph/sarangani-plant-to-boost-alsons-income/

The 105-megawatt Sarangani coal-fed plant of the Alcantara group will shore up its profitability by about R160 million this year, company executives have indicated.

According to Alsons Consolidated Resources, Inc. (ACR) chief financial officer Luis R. Ymson Jr., that estimate will account for the eight months of the plant’s commercial operations that kicked off April this year.

The level of income to be generated from the facility is anticipated to be higher for 2017 because its impact both on top and bottom lines will already be felt year-round.

“For 2016, it will be 29-percent more in revenues and 19-percent more in income…about R150 million to R160 million, that’s only for eight months,” Ymson noted.

Alsons Power Group president Tirso G. Santillan Jr. indicated that they are anticipating increased level of profitability at the latter part of the plant’s operations as their contractual arrangements generally set eventual acceleration in costs pass-on.

“The way our power supply contracts have been structured, initially the cost would be lower, but it will go up in the latter part of our operations…that is in terms of the SEC plant,” he expounded.

ACR chairman Tomas I. Alcantara emphasized that the first block of their Sarangani plant had been fully contracted. And even for Sarangani unit 2 which is due to break ground third quarter this year, its capacity is now similarly covered fully with bilateral contracts.

He said the off-takers (capacity buyers) are generally electric cooperatives (ECs) and the sole industrial capacity buyer is cement firm Holcim Philippines.

For the Alcantara group’s three blocks of coal plants, the total planned investment would be $1.0 billion – covering the two units of the Sarangani plant; and the 105MW San Ramon coal-fired plant in Zamboanga City.

It will be bankrolled by a typical project financing of 70:30 debt-to-equity ratio; which entails then that about $700 million will be funneled through bank borrowings.

Of the remaining projects yet to move headway into construction phase, the scale of investment for the Alcantara group and its partner Toyota Tsusho Corporation would be $600 million to $700 million. The equity portion alone would hover at $180 million to $210 million.