Weaker electricity sales trim First Gen’s bottom line

First Gen Corp., a Lopez-led renewable energy producer, recorded a slight decline in its earnings following weaker electricity sales in the first quarter this year.

In a disclosure on Tuesday, the company said its attributable recurring net income fell to $77 million (P4.49 billion) from $81 million (P4.52 billion) previously.

First Gen’s revenues from power sales in the January-March period dipped 2 percent to $583 million from $596 million.

The firm said its subsidiary Energy Development Corp. (EDC) saw a 22-percent drop in recurring income, settling with $20 million from $26 million.

This was due to lower generation volumes, blamed on maintenance downtime at some plants and the decline in spot market prices.

Also, EDC saw higher interest expenses, having incurred more debt as it launched a drilling operation program and project expansions. These included an addition of 83 megawatt (MW) of geothermal capacity this year.

Aside from geothermal, EDC handles power generation sourced from solar, wind, and hydro.

Hydro and gas

Contributions from EDC’s hydro facilities soared by 37 percent to $11 million from $8 million. This was propelled by the 165-MW Casecnan power plant.

On the other hand, First Gen’s gas facilities posted a 7-percent rise in recurring earnings. These reached $46 million, mainly because of interest cost savings helped by decreased debt levels.

NatGas Power Corp. booked weaker performance. The operator of the 420-MW San Gabriel natural gas-fired power plant’s supply deal with Manila Electric Co. lapsed last February.

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According to a company official, the group is ready to boost the country’s supply amid the summer heat and the upcoming national elections.

“First Gen’s portfolio of power plants is available for dispatch as the country experiences this punishing heat,” said Francis Giles Puno, president and chief operating officer of First Gen.

“We have been hard at work in making sure that the vital resources our company provides are able to deliver, especially during these coming local elections,” Puno said.

First Gen, itself a subsidiary of conglomerate First Philippine Holdings Corp., has 3,668 megawatts of total installed capacity from a portfolio of 33 facilities.