Integrated energy company Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) recently remitted P5.9 billion in government royalty to the Department of Energy (DOE) in the first quarter of the year.
The first-quarter remittance is the highest in the Consunji-owned company’s corporate history, reflecting an 807-percent jump from the P656 million that SMPC paid during the same period last year.
All-time high coal shipments and average selling prices account for the record-setting government share, the company said.
“We had an exceptionally strong start, so much so that in three months, we surpassed our previous full-year royalty payments,” said SMPC president and chief operating officer Maria Cristina Gotianun in a statement.
SMPC in 2021 paid a total of P5.4 billion to DOE as improved coal output and favorable market conditions allowed the company to ship more coal at higher prices.