ACEN Q1 earnings churn growth as renewables generation surge

MANILA, Philippines — Ayala Corp.’s listed energy platform’s earnings exploded in the first quarter as the company managed to steer through headwinds by boosting generation output.

In a disclosure sent to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, ACEN posted a consolidated net income of P2 billion in the first quarter, which grew nearly fivefold compared to the P405 million recorded a year ago.

ACEN noted that with that bottom line, they managed to move into a selling position despite borrowing costs turning expensive.

Consolidated revenues skyrocketed 23% year-on-year to P9.1 billion in the first quarter. ACEN noted power generation rose due to “better wind resources” and new power plants commissioned in the Philippines and Australia.

“After weathering several challenges in 2022, we began the year with encouraging results brought about by the growth in generation output. We expect to grow our net selling merchant position further, with more capacity scheduled to come online in the second half of the year,” said Eric Francia, president and CEO of ACEN. 

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 76% on-year to P4.6 billion in the first quarter. Of the figure, its domestic operations contributed P1.9 billion while its international business pitched in P2.8 billion.

Total renewables output across its domestic and overseas businesses surged 20% year-on-year to 1,058 Gigawatt hours from January to March. Its international business contributed 748 GWh of that figure, owing to wind output in Vietnam and from its Australia, and Indonesia operations.

As of 10:10am, shares in ACEN traded 0.17% up at P6.01 apiece on Thursday. — Ramon Royandoyan