Semirara’s profit rises to P2.9b

posted May 10, 2016 at 11:45 pm by Alena Mae S. Flores
http://thestandard.com.ph/business/205301/semirara-s-profit-rises-to-p2-9b.html

Semirara Mining and Power Corp. owned by the Consunji Group said Tuesday net income after tax climbed 16 percent in the first quarter to P2.91 billion from P2.51 billion a year ago, on higher coal and energy sales.

“Net of eliminations, coal and power contributed P3.94 billion and P2.72 billion, respectively,” Semirara Mining said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

Semirara Mining said coal production increased 37 percent in the January-March period to 3.7 million metric tons from 2.7 million MT in the same period last year.

Coal sales volume rose 21 percent year-on-year to 2.9 million MT from 2.4 million in first quarter last year.

The company said energy generation of Sem-Calaca Power Generation Power Corp. decreased 66 percent to 347 gigawatt-hours during the period from 1,014 GWh last year.

Sem-Calaca Power owns the existing 600-MW coal-fired power plant in Calaca, which the Consunji Group acquired from the government in 2009.

Unit 2 was on maintenance shutdown in the first quarter. Total energy sales decreased by 57 percent to 424 gWh from 982 gWh in 2014. Meanwhile, subsidiary Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. generated 217 gWh while on testing and commissioning.

The company said that before eliminations, coal and power recorded net of P1.81 billion and P1.10 billion, respectively.

Semirara Mining earlier said net income was expected to reach around P10 billion this year, posting a double-digit growth from P8.45 billion in 2015 with the full commercial operation of the 300-megawatt expansion of the Calaca coal-fired power plant in Batangas.

Semirara Mining president and chief operating officer Victor Consunji said that “if all remain equal,” the company would hit P10 billion in net income in 2016.

“That’s the way we’re thinking because if we did P8.5 billion, and assuming we can control the costs. But prices are still falling, so it’s hard to speculate,” Consunji said.

Semirara Mining posted a record profit of P8.45 billion in 2015, up 24 percent from 2014 despite a 13-percent drop in revenues to P24.68 billion due to low coal prices.

Consunji said the newly completed 300-MW coal plant expansion in Batangas was expected to contribute P2 billion to the company’s profitability this year.

Semirara Mining is also keen on the new 700-MW expansion of the coal plant in joint venture with Meralco PowerGen Corp. and Marubeni Corp. of Japan.