Alsons income sizzles in January-September

MANILA, Philippines — The prudent cost management of Alcantara-led Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) has been paying off so far, seeing stronger earnings as of end-September.

The listed firm reported a 19.6-percent growth in attributable net income in the first nine months, improving to P604 million from the same period last year’s P505 million.

Consolidated net income likewise increased by six percent to P1.89 billion from P1.78 billion on a yearly basis.

ACR deputy CFO Philip Edward Sagun also attributed the robust performance to stable profit margins across the power generation assets and the rising electricity demand in Mindanao.

“Additionally, the implementation of ancillary service procurement agreement of our Zamboanga and Iligan power plants has contributed to these favorable results,” Sagun said.

ACR’s power plants in Zamboanga and Iligan provide ancillary services to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines to help ensure the stability and reliability of the Mindanao grid.

The company’s nine-month revenues, however, declined by 10.8 percent to P8.9 billion from P10 billion, driven by lower passed-on coal costs and the forced outage of ACR’s Sarangani power plant.

This was partially offset by lower expenses during the period, narrowing by 15 percent to P6.79 billion from P7.99 billion previously.

EBITDA or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, meanwhile, was flat at P4.1 billion amid continued operational efficiency and resilience.

“We are actively expanding our retail electricity supply portfolio, and we are optimistic about adding more customers as we continue to strengthen our presence in the market,” Sagun said.

ACR intends to scale up its renewable energy fleet with several solar and hydropower projects at different stages of development and implementation.

The company recently completed the 14.5-megawatt Siguil hydropower plant, its first hydro project in Maasim, Sarangani.