MANILA, Philippines — Power distribution giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) reported a 14 percent jump in first half profit to P11.97 billion, largely due to the continued increase in energy volume sold and customer count.
In a briefing yesterday, Meralco chief financial officer Betty Siy-Yap said core net income reached P10.85 billion, up seven percent year on year.
Meralco’s consolidated revenues expanded by seven percent to P150.5 billion as a result of “increased volume of energy sold and increase in generation charge, weakening of peso, and higher WESM (wholesale electricity spot market) prices,” Siy-Yap said.
In terms of electricity sold, sales volume rose 6.5 percent to 21,665 gigawatt-hours (GWh).
Meralco president Oscar Reyes said the power distributor’s customer base continued to grow at a healthy pace at 4.8 percent to 6.5 million by end of June, mainly driven by new customers in the residential segment.
“In the distribution side, our promise has been for us to deliver excellent customer service and operational excellence to our 6.5 million customers in terms of 24/7 power,” Reyes said.
For the non-electric side, Meralco registered steady revenues at P3.6 billion. The amount comprises of business generated by foreign attachment to the Meralco poles and from its subsidiaries namely Meralco Industrial Engineering Services Corp. (MIESCOR), Meralco Energy Inc. (MServ), CIS Bayad Center Inc. and Radius Telecoms Inc.
Meralco chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan declined to give out any profit guidance for the year, but said he expects “a better 2018.”
“The economy continues to expand boosted by strong consumer spending and the growth in the service industry, and even the industrial sectors. The ramping up of government infrastructure projects is expected to further lift the country’s growth prospects. These, therefore, serve as imperatives for us to build a robust electricity distribution system along with highly cost-competitive, reliable and environmentally-sound power plant,” he said.
Pangilinan said Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen) is set to commission the 455-megawatt (MW) San Buenaventura Power super-critical coal-fired plant in the third quarter of 2019.
Company officials said the power distributor continues to monitor economic headwinds that could have potential impact on its performance.
“However, economic headwinds from higher fuel and commodity prices, higher exchange and interest rates, and inflation remind us to remain vigilant and cautious about our own growth targets, investments and spending,” Pangilinan said.
Other headwinds also include frictions in the global cooperation investment and trade environments,” Reyes said.