First Gen boosts earnings 42% in 9 months

By Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star) | Updated November 16, 2016 - 12:00am

http://www.philstar.com/business/2016/11/16/1644060/first-gen-boosts-earnings-42-9-months

MANILA, Philippines – Clean and renewable electricity producer First Gen Corp. reported a 42 percent rise in its nine-month income due to higher earnings from its renewable energy assets and the liquidated damages booked from the construction delay of its 414-megawatt (MW) San Gabriel plant.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, First Gen said its net income for the period amounted to $170 million, compared to last year’s $120 million.

The company attributed the improved nine-month profit to higher earnings delivered by subsidiaries Energy Development Corp. (EDC) and First Gen Hydro Power Corp. (FG Hydro) and the booked a $53-million income from liquidated damages from the delay of the San Gabriel plant and unrealized foreign exchange gains.

Broken down into earnings contribution from each business unit, the gas-fired power plants—the 1,000-MW Santa Rita, 500-MW San Lorenzo, 414-MW San Gabriel and 97-MW Avion natural gas plants—pitched in $130 million, EDC with $67 million and FG Hydro with $4 million.

However, consolidated revenues slipped 19 percent to $1.17 billion mainly due to the lower contributions from the 1,000-MW Santa Rita and 500-MW San Lorenzo natural gas plants—collectively known as First Gas plants.

Accounting for bulk or 54 percent of the company’s total revenues, the First Gas plants registered a 24 percent drop in revenues due to lower fuel pass-through prices, worsened by the slightly lower combined dispatch of the gas plants at 79 percent this year versus 81 percent in 2015.

EDC’s geothermal, wind and solar revenues accounted for $500 million, or 42 percent of total consolidated revenues.  The amount represented a six percent decline due to an unfavorable effect of foreign exchange translation.