MANILA, Philippines — Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is poised to end the year with record high earnings after finishing the nine months ending September with strong profitability.
Meralco chairman and chief executive officer Manuel V. Pangilinan said the company is looking at a full year consolidated core net income of P37 billion.
This would represent a 37-percent jump from Meralco’s 2022 consolidated core net income of P27.1 billion.
“Given the robust performance of practically all of our businesses, it is likely that Meralco will deliver another year of record earnings consistent with its long arc of earnings growth these past 14 years,” Pangilinan said.
Meralco ended the nine-month period with a consolidated core net income of P30 billion, 53 percent higher than last year’s P19.6 billion.
Reported net income likewise expanded by 44 percent to P28.4 billion from last year’s P19.8 billion.
Meralco attributed its higher earnings for the period to the increase in energy volumes distributed during the period, coupled with the robust performance of the power generation business, the turnaround of Global Business Power Corp., and completion of the distribution and asset true-up refunds totaling P49.1 billion since 2021.
The power distributor also saw its retail electricity business start to recover from the negative effects of the fuel cost recovery adjustments of its suppliers by modifying its sum offering to its customers.
From January to September, Meralco’s revenues rose by six percent to P335.2 billion from P314.9 billion due to higher volumes distributed and higher pass-through charges.
Consolidated distribution utility sales volumes posted a four percent increase to 38,164 gigawatt hours (GWh), with Meralco’s volume rising by four percent year-on-year and that of Clark Electric Distribution Corp. improving by seven percent.
The commercial segment accounted for 37 percent of total energy sales mix, while residential sales accounted for 35 percent, and the industrial segment at 28 percent.
In particular, Meralco saw a recovery on residential sales volume with year-to-date sales growing by three percent to 13,363 GWh.
“We observed the sustained upward trajectory in the volume of energy sold throughout the nine-month period across all customer segments. While we expect this to continue for the rest of the year, we also remain mindful of the upward trend in power rates with the anticipated increase in Malampaya gas prices and the continuing supply reduction of this gas field,” Meralco Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Ronnie Aperocho said.
Aperocho said the termination of some of its previously executed power supply agreements also puts further pressure on overall rates.
“Nonetheless, Meralco remains committed to ensuring continuity of supply and will be conducting a series of competitive selection processes in the coming months in accordance with the recently approved guidelines. We will continue with our proactive efforts to deliver stable, reliable electricity service at the least possible cost to benefit our growing number of customers,” he said.
Meralco’s consolidated customer count as of September stood at 7.8 million, a three percent increase from the 7.6 million customers recorded last year, given the healthy pipeline of service applications post-pandemic.
“Beyond our traditional role of providing power and services to our customers at affordable rates, Meralco takes to heart our overarching mission of improving people’s welfare, in coordination with, and with the support of government,” Pangilinan said.
“We are making significant strides in our energy transition journey to become a significant renewable energy player in the country. More broadly, we are committed to pursuing innovative and sustainable investments which can bring significant value to our environment, our customers, our shareholders, our communities,and our people,” he said.