AboitizPower Q1 Net Income Dips by 9% to P3.6 Billion

AboitizPower recorded a consolidated net income of P3.6 billion for the first quarter of 2019, 9% lower than the P4 billion recorded for the same period last year.

Non-recurring losses amounting to P440 million were recognized during the period, compared to the P1.2 billion in non-recurring losses recorded during the same period last year. Without these one-off losses, core net income for the first quarter of 2019 was P4.1 billion, 21% lower year-on-year (YoY), which was largely due to the higher volume and cost of purchased power.

Spot market prices were exceptionally high during the first three months of 2019, and the company purchased replacement power due to outages and over-contracting in preparation for Therma Visayas, Inc. (TVI) coming online. The company recorded consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of P10.4 billion for the period, 13% lower than the P11.9 billion for the first quarter of 2018.

“It has been a challenging first quarter for the industry and AboitizPower. The planned maintenance shutdown of power plants in preparation for the upcoming elections, coupled with forced outages, resulted in the grid’s thinning reserves. Despite this, our customers remain our top priority and we ensured delivery of replacement power from the spot market,” said Emmanuel V. Rubio, AboitizPower Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

Generation and Retail Electricity Supply

AboitizPower’s generation and retail supply business recorded a consolidated EBITDA of P8.6 billion in the first quarter of 2019, 15% lower than the P10.1 billion recorded during the same period last year. This was primarily due to higher volume and cost of purchased power. As previously mentioned, spot market prices were high during the first quarter of 2018, and the company purchased replacement power caused by outages and over-contracting in preparation for TVI’s incoming capacity addition.

Capacity sold for the first quarter decreased by 7% YoY, from 3,174 megawatts (MW) in 2018 to 2,947 MW in 2019.
“We are excited with new supply contracts and new power plants that have started to deliver power to the grid, which should contribute to our bottom line starting this year,” Rubio said.

“We will continue to pursue our renewable energy projects as we look forward to the implementation of the Green Energy Option Program and Renewable Portfolio Standards. We are committed to continue providing the country with adequate power supply that is affordable and sustainable,” Rubio added.

Distribution

AboitizPower’s distribution business, meanwhile, recorded consolidated EBITDA of P1.9 billion, 3% higher than the P1.8 billion recorded last year. The company saw energy sales increase to 1,343 gigawatt-hours (GWh), which was 3% higher than the 1,298 GWh recorded in the first quarter of 2018. This was driven by the increase in new customers across all segments.