AboitizPower posts 4% hike in 9-month net income

MANILA — Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower) reported a four-percent improvement in net income to P15.7 billion for the first nine months of the year due to fresh contribution from the GNPower Mariveles thermal power plant and the strong performance of its various hydropower plants.

Due to a revaluation of dollar-denominated liabilities and placements, as well as debt prepayment costs associated with a debt refinancing of a subsidiary, the company incurred non-recurring losses of P1.7 billion, versus last year’s loss of P102 million.

Without these one-off losses, the power firm’s core net income grew 15 percent from P15.2 billion to P17.5 billion. The company’s consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) grew from P28.5 billion to P35.4 billion, a 24-percent year-on-year (YoY) increase.

At the core net income level, AboitizPower’s generation business grew 25 percent YoY from P12.3 billion to P15.3 billion. Its total income contribution for the period amounted to P14.2 billion.

AboitizPower’s capacity sold increased by 39 percent YoY, from 2,244 MW to 3,112 MW, mainly driven by the additional capacities from GNPower-Mariveles, higher generation of the hydro units, and more capacities contracted.

“The significant growth in our generation business highlights our balanced strategy, as both our renewable and thermal plants contributed to our nine-month performance. Internally, we will continue to improve how we do things and become a world-class organization, so the plants run more efficiently and reliably to better serve our customers,” said Antonio R. Moraza, AboitizPower President and Chief Operating Officer.

Moraza added, “We will continue to be on the lookout for opportunities as we march toward our target of 4,000-MW net attributable capacity by 2020 while meeting the demands of sustainability, energy security, and affordability.”

On the power distribution side, AboitizPower reported a P3-billion or four-percent increase YoY in its core net income contribution for the period.

AboitizPower’s attributable sales in the distribution group for the period was at 3,924 gigawatt-hours, registering a 3-percent rise from the same period last year.

“We see significant growth in the economies served by our distribution utilities, and these will require additional power. We are ready to respond to this need by ensuring that we have enough supply contracts while improving our distribution network, so it will be able to serve our customers well, and to respond to their needs fast,” Moraza said.

One of the largest power producers in the Philippines, AboitizPower is the holding company for the Aboitiz Group’s investments in power generation, distribution, and retail electricity services. (PNA)