Power producer First Gen Corp. said Monday recurring net income attributable to equity holders of the parent reached $123 million in the first nine months, down 4 percent from $128 million it earned in the same period last year.
“Despite the recent calamities like the Batangas and Leyte earthquakes, which negatively affected the operations of our gas plants and our largest geothermal facility, First Gen’s recurring third quarter net income slightly dipped,” First Gen president and chief operating officer Francis Giles Puno said.
He said other power plants in the portfolio like the Bacman geothermal power plants and the Burgos wind power plant were able to deliver better profits this year while San Gabriel recovered in the third quarter.
“Our merchant natural gas-fired power plants have been providing much-needed power these past few months as numerous power plants in the grid went offline due to planned outages,” Puno said.
First Gen, a Lopez Group company, also said attributable net income in the first three quarters reached $101 million.
The company said attributable net income was lower than the recurring net income by $22 million due to the one-time effect of the break funding costs incurred as a result of the $500-million refinancing of the 1,000-megawatt Santa Rita power plant’s long-term debt in May and the premium paid for EDC’s partial buyback of US dollar-denominated bond, and the geothermal company’s earthquake-related expenditures.
First Gen’s 420-MW San Gabriel flex plant in Batangas earned positive income in the third quarter as a result of the higher electricity prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.
“This partially diminished the losses incurred by the said plant in the first semester of this year,” the company said.
First Gen affiliate Energy Development Corp.’s Unified Leyte facility was negatively affected by the earthquake that hit Leytein July, although this was offset by better performance of EDC’s other power plants.
Consolidated revenues from the sale of electricity increased $104 million during the period, up nine percent to $1.278 billion.
The natural gas portfolio accounted for $778 million, or 61 percent of First Gen’s total consolidated revenues.
“Their revenues were 23 percent higher for the first nine months of 2017 mainly due to the fresh contributions of the 97-MW Avion peaking power plant and San Gabriel flex plant, though partially offset by the slightly lower combined dispatch of Santa Rita and and the 500 MW San Lorenzo power plants at 74 percent in the first three quarters of 2017,” First Gen said.