Meralco profit rises 10% to P5.3 billion in Q1

MANILA, Philippines — Unusually strong sales in the first quarter pushed Manila Electric Co. (Meralco)’s core and reported net income higher during the period, company officials said yesterday.

In a briefing, Meralco chief finance officer Betty Siy-Yap said reported net income grew 10 percent to P5.3 billion, while core net income rose seven percent to P4.92 billion.  Revenues went up by six percent to P70.09 billion.

“We were quite surprised by the unusually strong sales that we saw in the first quarter, particularly in March. Energy sales were up nearly nine percent to 10,145 gigawatt-hours (GWh),” said Meralco president Oscar Reyes.

Sales volume was driven by increased consumption from existing customers and new customers as Meralco’s customer count increased by nearly five percent to 6.4 million accounts.

Of the total, 92 percent comprised of residential customers which included prepaid electricity accounts, while commercial and industrial customers accounted for 7.9 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

The higher temperature, which averaged 27.1 degrees Celsius, also drove the increase in volume, Reyes said.

While the company has yet to provide its profit guidance this year, Meralco chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the first quarter results present an encouraging outlook for the year.

“Our first quarter billed volume growth of nine percent is encouraging and indicative of continuing strong economic growth. Domestic consumption and investment expenditures remain rather strong, the prospect of regional stability with the recent developments in North and South Korea and the friendly tone in Philippine-China relations add to this positive view,” he said.

Pangilinan said power demand, as well as for other goods and services, is expected to surge, possibly putting more strain on Meralco’s electricity distribution and generation infrastructure.

“In particular, we need to be ahead of the curve to fully support, rather than compromise, the country’s continued progress by holding back on investments in new generation capacities,” he said.

“Meralco remains committed, and has always been ready to invest in capital expenditures for a highly resilient, customer-responsive, digitally-enabled distribution business, and fuel-efficient, reliable and environment-friendly power generation plants. These can best be accelerated with an enabling policy and pro-active regulatory environment,” Pangilinan said.