SMPC earmarks higher capex for 2023

MANILA, Philippines — Integrated energy company Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) expects to end the year strong, and looks forward to sustain its momentum next year with a bigger investment allocation.

SMPC chairman and chief executive officer Isidro Consunji said the company expects to end the year better in most metrics.

The company is fresh from setting a new profit record during the first three quarters of the year as its consolidated net income surged  by 250 percent to P36 billion.

For next year, SMPC is earmarking higher capital expenditures budget to further beef up its production and generation capacities.

The company plans to spend P5.6 billion for its capex program in 2023, eight percent higher than the P5.2 billion allocated this year.

Bulk of the amount at P4.1 billion will go to the mining equipment refleeting of its coal segment.

The other P1.5 billion, meanwhile, will be used for the planned maintenance activities of its power subsidiaries, SEM-Calaca Power Corp. (SCPC) and Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. (SLPGC).

“We expect stable demand for coal and electricity next year so we’re continually investing in our production and generation capacities,” SMPC president and COO Maria Cristina Gotianun said.

SMPC spent P3.6 billion of its 2022 capex as of the third quarter.

Around P2.2 billion went to the acquisition of mining and support equipment, while the rest was used to repair and replace plant components of SCPC and SLPGC.

SMPC’s coal production target for next year is at 14.5 million metric tons (MMT), roughly the same as its 14.5 MMT to 15 MMT target this year.

Coal production reached 13.7 MMT in the first nine months.