Renewable power producer Energy Development Corp. said Monday it secured a P5-billion loan from Union Bank of the Philippines to support capital expenditures and finance maturing loans this year.
“We advise that EDC executed a loan agreement with Union Bank for the total amount of P5 billion,” EDC said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.
EDC chief finance officer Nestor Vasay said the P5-billion loans “is meant to cover two things for us: our remaining capex requirements and to refinance a maturing loan this year.”
EDC vice president for finance Erwin Avante said the loan would help the company augment cash requirements for the year.
“We have a big capex of around P14 billion, debt service of around P11 billion,” Avante said.
EDC’s capital expenditure this year would be higher than last year’s P12 billion.
EDC president and chief operating officer Richard Tantoco earlier said the company would focus on improving the reliability of the 112.5-megawatt Tongonan geothermal power plant in Leyte.
EDC said consolidated recurring net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company reached P2.63 billion in the first quarter, up by 7 percent from P2.46-billion in the same period last year.
EDC, an affiliate of First Gen Corp., owns 1,441 megawatts of generating capacity, including 1,159 MW of geothermal, 150 MW of wind, 132 MW of hydro and 4 MW of solar.
EDC’s consolidated revenues also increased 7 percent in the January-March period to P9.10 billion from P8.5 billion a year earlier.
Increased core income and revenues resulted primarily from higher energy sales reported by EDC’s 150-MW Burgos Wind Project, following the completion of the uprated Laoag-San Esteban transmission line in September 2015.
Burgos Wind Project’s core income increased P520 million on the back of a P670-million growth in revenues during the period.
Increased revenues from plants with largely contracted capacities such as Burgos Wind, Unified Leyte and Palinpinon/Tongonan geothermal projects were partly offset by lower revenues from plants exposed to the spot market such as Bacman and Nasulo geothermal power plants.
The company expects net income to be flat this year from P8.8 billion in 2015, on maintenance shutdown of some power plants.
“Our income also depends on the movement of the prices at WESM [wholesale electricity spot market],” Avante said.
Avante said EDC sourced around 15 percent of sales revenues from WESM, where prices were currently low.