First Gen Corp., the country’s clean energy leader, said Friday it ended the first half with P7.1 billion ($148 million) in recurring net income attributable to equity holders, up 11 percent from P6.7 billion ($132.9 million) in the same period last year.
The company said the profits came from the operations of 3,495 megawatts of clean, low-carbon, and renewable portfolio. It said it benefited from higher electricity sales and prices, and lower interest expenses and taxes following the enactment of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act.
“Power demand bounced back to pre-pandemic levels despite the limitations brought about by the persistently slow recovery of the economy,” First Gen President and chief operating officer Francis Giles Puno said in a statement to the stock exchange.
Puno said the power outages experienced in the second quarter highlighted the importance of keeping First Gen’s power portfolio properly maintained and running.
“We are steadily progressing with constructing the country’s first LNG [liquefied natural gas] terminal for delivery in fourth quarter 2022. We are also working to deliver more power projects across our portfolio despite the uncertainty surrounding the market and its accompanying business risks,” said Puno.
The natural gas platform delivered a 21-percent increase in recurring earnings in the first half to P5.2 billion ($107 million) from P4.5billion ($88 million) year-on-year.
The 97-MW Avion power plant enjoyed higher electricity sales as it supplied the grid with supplemental power during constraint periods while the other natural gas-fired plants reaped the benefits of lower income tax rates under the CREATE law.
First Gen said these were slightly offset by San Gabriel power plant’s lower generation because of repair work that was completed in the first quarter.
The gas platform’s attributable net income to parent increased to P5.2 billion (US$108 million) from P4.5 billion (US$88 million) in the first semester last year.
Geothermal leader Energy Development Corp. contributed recurring attributable earnings from its geothermal, wind, and solar platform amounting to P2.3 billion ($47 million) as of June 30,, or 3 percent lower than P2.4 billion (US$48 million) it earned year-on-year.
EDC incurred higher power plant and steam field maintenance expenses and foreign exchange losses, but these were offset by lower interest expenses and income taxes.
EDC’s attributable net income to parent of P2.2 billion ($46 million) in the first six months was unchanged compared to the same period in 2020.