FGEN profit drops 24% after gas asset sale

First Gen Corp. (FGEN) saw its attributable net income slump 24 percent in the first quarter to P3.6 billion from P4.8 billion a year ago, as the Lopez-led energy firm felt the earnings impact of selling a controlling stake in its natural gas portfolio late last year.

In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, the company said the decline came despite stronger revenues and improved performance from its renewable energy business, particularly geothermal operations under Energy Development Corp. (EDC).

Revenues during the January-to-March period climbed 32 percent to P15.3 billion from P11.6 billion in 2025, driven by higher electricity sales volumes and improved power prices.

However, FGEN said the sale of a 60 percent stake in its gas portfolio in November 2025 meant the company now only books its 40 percent share in the operating natural gas plants and a 20 percent interest in the Interim Offshore LNG Terminal.

Nonetheless, renewable energy operations remained the company’s main revenue driver, with EDC’s geothermal, wind, and solar portfolio accounting for 88 percent of consolidated revenues. Hydroelectric plants contributed 11 percent.

“The strong 1st quarter 2026 performance of the geothermal portfolio was largely driven by the drilling program launched in 2024, our newly operating battery storage projects, and better-than-expected contracted market prices. 

We envisage carrying this momentum into the rest of the year as more wells are activated and as we continue to see contributions from EDC’s new growth projects,” First Gen President and COO Francis Giles B. Puno said.

EDC’s attributable recurring income excluding hydro operations rose 16 percent to P1.4 billion from P1.2 billion a year earlier, buoyed by higher sales volumes from its Leyte, Bacman, and Mindanao facilities and stronger electricity prices.

The company also booked fresh revenues from ancillary services provided by EDC’s battery and energy storage system projects, which entered commercial operations between September and December 2025.

Still, Burgos Wind weighed on results after weaker wind yield and outages cut generation output. EDC likewise faced higher interest expenses following increased borrowings tied to drilling activities and expansion projects.

The company completed 88.6 megawatts (MW) of geothermal expansion projects and 40 megawatt-hours of BESS capacity in 2025.

Meanwhile, FGEN’s hydro platform contributed P382 million in recurring earnings during the quarter, down 38 percent from P612 million a year ago.

The 132-MW Pantabangan-Masiway Power Plants posted attributable recurring net income of P560 million, improving from P373 million last year on higher water reservoir levels, stronger electricity sales, and improved ancillary service revenues.

However, the 165-MW Casecnan Power Plant swung to an attributable net loss of P181 million from P242 million in attributable net income in 2025 due to lower water volume and interest expenses on debt that has since been prepaid.

Equity earnings from FGEN’s retained 40 percent stake in the gas business reached P1.5 billion in the quarter. A year earlier, the company booked P3.7 billion from the gas portfolio under discontinued operations when it still fully owned the assets.

The gas portfolio itself delivered improved earnings of P3.9 billion in the first quarter, up P150 million year-on-year.