Iris
Gonzales (The Philippine Star) - March 18, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — DMCI
Power Corp. (DMC), the off-grid electricity supplier of Consunji-owned DMCI
Holdings, benefited from strong power demand last year, surpassing all its
sales volume records.
Sales volume grew 25
percent to 308 gigawatt-hours last year from 247 GWh recorded a year ago, DMCI
Power said in a regulatory filing.
DMCI Power president
Nestor Dadivas said the company enjoyed stronger power demand across all its
key operating areas.
Improved distribution
and transmission line systems also accounted for the double-digit growth, he
added.
Dadivas said some areas
serviced by DMCI Power benefited from the closure of the tourism island of
Boracay in April last year for a six-month rehabilitation because of
environmental issues.
“The six-month closure
of Boracay positively affected Palawan and Oriental Mindoro, which are known
secondary tourism spots in the Philippines. Higher tourist arrivals generated
more economic activities in these areas,” Dadivas said.
For instance, the
company’s sales in Palawan showed the strongest growth at nearly 34 percent to
131 GWh from 98 GWh, while Masbate energy sales reached 111 GWh, a 12 percent
increase from 99 GWh in 2017.
Registering the second
highest percentage growth in 2018 was Oriental Mindoro with 66 GWh in sales, a
32 percent jump from 50 GWh the year before.
In Sultan Kudarat,
where DMCI Power operates as a back-up or reserve power provider, sales volume
was flat at 170 MWh from 140 MWh in 2017.
On a standalone basis,
DMCI Power’s net income surged 30 percent year-on-year from P359 million to
P465 million.
It was among the
strongest contributors to DMCI Holdings Inc., its parent firm and the listed
conglomerate of the Consunji Group.
However, it was still
not enough to pull up DMCI Holdings’ overall income.
In all, DMCI Holdings
posted a net income of P14.5 billion last year, a two percent decline from
P14.8 billion the previous year as weaker performance of Semirara Mining and
Power Corp. tempered the group’s earnings.
The real estate,
construction, off-grid power, mining and water businesses delivered healthy
returns in 2018 but the weaker-than-expected performance of Semirara Mining and
Power Corporation (SMPC) tempered the consolidated profits.
Last year, SMPC faced a
series of unforeseen setbacks like the prolonged shutdown of Unit 1 of
Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corporation, inclement weather and China’s
soft ban on coal imports.
Net income
contributions from SMPC fell 14 percent to P6.8 billion from P8 billion due to
a 12 percent drop in coal sales volume and the shutdown of Southwest Luzon
Power Generation Corporation (Unit 1).
Excluding non-recurring
items, SMPC’s core income attributable to DMCI Holdings declined eight percent
to P7.4 billion from P8.1 billion.
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