By Danessa Rivera (The
Philippine Star) | Updated August 13, 2016 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Higher
electricity sales and lower operating expenses helped Lopez-led geothermal and
wind energy company Energy Development Corp. (EDC) register an increase in its
six-month net earnings.
EDC disclosed its consolidated net
income, inclusive of non-recurring items, went up seven percent from P4.61
billion in the January to June 2015 period to P4.91 billion in the same period
this year.
“The increase was primarily driven
by higher revenues from power projects and lower operating expenses,” it said.
Revenues improved from P16.78
billion to P17.01 billion on the back of improved sales resulting from plants
with large contracted capacities.
These plants include
Tongonan/Palinpinon geothermal plant on account of lower unplanned outages,
Pantabangan-Masiway hydroelectric plant due to higher water levels in the dam,
and Burgos wind and solar farms following the resolution of its curtailment
issues after the completion of the Laoag-San Esteban transmission line.
Meanwhile, plants that were exposed
to the spot market such as Bacman and Nasulo geothermal plants recorded lower
revenues despite an increase in sales volume.
“In spite of the low WESM price environment,
we remain committed to address plant reliability issues fleet-wide,” EDC senior
vice president and CFO Nestor Vasay said.
“Investing in the company’s existing
asset base is expected to boost cash generation, with the equipment’s improved
reliability and output,” he said.
Operating expenses, on the other
hand, dropped by P710 million with the deferral of non-critical projects and
the curtailment of business related expenses.
As of the first half of 2016, EDC’s
financial position remained strong with cash balance of P15.58 billion while
maintaining a comfortable gearing level with consolidated net debt to equity of
1.15 to one and consolidated net debt to EBITDA of 2.89 to one.
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