Meralco nets P11B, eyes double-digit expansion
Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), armed with a new 25-year franchise, delivered an 11-percent increase in first-quarter core earnings and expects to sustain a double-digit profit growth for the full year.
In a media briefing on Monday, Betty Siy-Yap, Meralco’s chief finance officer, said three-month consolidated core net income rose to P11.17 billion from P10 billion in the same period last year.
The company executive said Meralco’s distribution unit continued to provide the highest contribution at P6.7 billion, accounting for 60 percent of core earnings, up 58 percent.
Power sales volume went up 2 percent to 12,493 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in the January to March period from 12,307 GWh a year ago, with all segments—particularly commercial and residential—posting growth.
It ended the first quarter with 8.1 million customers, an increase from 7.9 million last year.
Meralco, the biggest power distributor in the country, delivers electricity to Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal and select areas in Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas and Quezon.
Contribution from its power generation unit also improved to P3.4 billion, or 31 percent of earnings, from P2.72 billion a year ago, on the back of “stable plant availability across its portfolio, sustained revenue generation from the Reserve Market, and contribution of Chromite Gas Holdings, Inc. (CGHI) beginning February this year.”
CGHI is its joint venture with Aboitiz-led Therma NatGas Power Inc.
Meralco’s retail electricity supply and non-electricity units chipped in P1.1 billion.
Although company chair Manuel V. Pangilinan expects a “tough year,” he said the group would continue to gun for a low double-digit growth in its core income.
“The recent 25-year renewal of Meralco’s franchise, signed by President Marcos, is a milestone for the company, for which we are grateful indeed. This reinforces our commitment to public service, to sustainable growth, to nation-building,” Pangilinan said.
