PNOC-EDC net profit drops 32% to P6.78B in 2006

State-owned PNOC-Energy Development Corp. (PNOC-EDC) reported a 32 percent drop in net income for 2006 due to lower foreign exchange gains.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), PNOC-EDC said its net earnings declined to P6.78 billion from P9.91 billion as foreign exchange gains last year reached only P2.88 billion, from P6.4 billion in 2005.

PNOC-EDC’s forex gains contributed 32.3 percent of total revenue in 2006 compared to 46 percent in 2005.

The company’s sales dropped 2.6 percent to P21 billion, from P21.57 billion due to a decrease in the inflation indices and billed volume for electricity sales.

PNOC-EDC said sales of electricity decreased by 4.4 percent to P15.72 billion from P16.55 billion.

"The decline was attributed to the combined decrease in average inflation indices by P0.0992 kilowatthour (kwh) as influenced by the appreciation of the peso against the dollar, and a decrease in billed volume by 71 gigawatthours (GWh) owing to the landslide that affected Mindanao I and II build-operate-transfer (BOT) plants in August," PNOC-EDC said.

The company said the drilling contract with Lihir Management Corp. in Papua New Guinea resulted in a 75 percent increase in sales to P261.4 million in 2006 from P149 million in 2005.

Meanwhile, PNOC-EDC announced that its board has approved a cash dividend of P0.099 per share to stockholders of record as of May 15, 2007 payable on June 6, 2007.

Aside from being the Philippines ’ leading producer of geothermal energy, PNOC-EDC is also the country’s largest provider of onshore drilling services.

PNOC-EDC was created in 1976 by the virtue of Presidential Decree 334 to accelerate the exploration, delineation and development of indigenous energy resources.

At present, PNOC-EDC is the largest geothermal company in the country with 1,149.4MW installed capacity spread over geothermal steamfields in Leyte, Negros Oriental, Bicol, and North Cotabato . This represents 60 percent of the country’s total geothermal capacity.