Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s largest distribution utility, reported a P23.2-billion consolidated core net income for the first half of the year, up 21 percent from P19.2 billion in the same period last year.
At a press briefing on Monday, Meralco chief financial officer Betty C. Siy-Yap reported that the company’s consolidated reported net income during the period likewise grew by 26 percent to P22.4 billion from last year’s P17.9 billion.
Sustained growth
The company attributed the growth to sustained energy sales growth and robust performance of the power generation and retail businesses driven by steady power demand.
Total energy sales volumes on the company’s electric power infrastructure reached a record-high of 33,477 gigawatt-hour on the back of 13 percent and 10 percent growth from the residential and commercial segments, respectively.
“With the steady growth trajectory of the economy, we are satisfied that Meralco will sustain its robust performance throughout the year,” Meralco chairman and chief executive officer Manuel V. Pangilinan said.
More generation capacity
“Beyond the core distribution business, we continue to invest in more generation capacity which will help address, if not eliminate, instances of supply insufficiency in the country’s power grid, and support the growing power demand,” he added.
Based on Meralco’s financial report, consolidated revenues from January to June also clocked in at P237 billion, 6 percent higher than P224.8 billion last year.
With the steady growth trajectory of the economy, we are satisfied that Meralco will sustain its robust performance throughout the year.
Meralco’s average retail rate, on the other hand, decreased by nearly 4 percent to P10.27 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) during the period from P10.68 per kWh year-on-year.
According to Meralco, spending during the quarter reached P19.9 billion for distribution network projects, including new connections, asset renewals, and load growth projects, among others.
Remaining balance
The remaining balance was allocated for the development of MGreen’s solar projects, Miescor Infrastructure Development Corp.’s purchase of an additional 475 telecommunication towers from Globe, and the construction of build-to-suit towers.
As of the end of June, Meralco’s customer count stood at 7.9 million, up 3 percent from 7.7 million a year ago as the energization of new customers for both ordinary service and project-covered applications continued.
