BUSINESS
Higher revenues boost First Gen until Sept.
The gains were driven by higher earnings contribution from the geothermal portfolio of its unit, Energy Development Corp. or EDC.
Lopez-led renewable energy company First Gen Corp. saw double-digit growth in its bottom-line profit in the first three quarters of the year on the back of higher energy sales.
The company said on Friday that attributable recurring net income during the period grew by 28 percent to P13.8 billion from P10.2 billion a year ago.
The gains were driven by the higher earnings contribution from the geothermal portfolio of its unit, Energy Development Corp. or EDC.
EDC geothermal plants enjoyed as higher sales and operating income as they benefited from higher electricity prices. Notably, higher generation also allowed EDC to cut replacement power purchases.
From January to September, EDC's earnings surged by 58 percent to P5.7 billion from P3.5 billion a year ago.
Natural gas portfolio
Meanwhile, First Gen disclosed that its natural gas portfolio delivered only a slight increase in earnings from the 420-MW San Gabriel and the 97-MW Avion facilities due to their higher operating income for the year.
However, the earnings of the company's hydro platform only clocked in at P316 million, 12 percent lower than last year's P341 million.
The Pantabangan-Masiway power plants had a reduction in the volume of electricity sold due to the transfer of its power supply contract to EDC in August 2022.
Positive performance in 2023
"The First Gen portfolio continues to deliver a positive performance in 2023 and there are still a few more milestones that we expect to achieve towards the end of the year, including the commercial operations of our LNG terminal at the First Gen Clean Energy Complex," First Gen president and COO Francis Giles B. Puno said.
"Further, we expect the closing and turnover by PSALM of the 165 MW Casecnan Hydroelectric Power plant in early 2024," he added.
Puno previously pointed out that Casecnan will be a "very important asset" for the company due to its proximity to its Project Aya, a 120-megawatt pumped storage hydroelectric facility in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija.