ACEN allots P70 billion for capex in 2025

MANILA, Philippines — Ayala-led ACEN Corp. is allocating P70 billion in capital expenditure (capex) next year to fuel its growth and further strengthen its renewable energy portfolio.

“In 2025, we expect to spend roughly P70 billion,” company president and CEO Eric Francia said.

As previously disclosed, ACEN earmarked around P72 billion this year to support its domestic and international operations.

However, the company is likely to have utilized only around 69 percent of its capex budget this year.

“We are forecasting P50 billion in capex across all geographies for FY (fiscal year) 2024,” Francia said.

Currently, ACEN has a global generation portfolio of 6.8 gigawatts (GW), consisting of fully operational assets, projects under construction and committed projects.

Of the total projects under construction, seven assets with a combined attributable capacity of 1.2 GW are expected to come on stream next year, according to Francia.

These projects include the 520-megawatt Stubbo Solar in Australia, the 146-MW Monsoon Wind in Laos, the 109-MW Stockyard Wind in the US and a 123-MW hybrid solar-wind development in India.

In the Philippines, the company is looking to operationalize a 60-MW solar project in Pangasinan as well as the 160-MW Pagudpud Wind and the 57-MW Capa Wind in Ilocos Norte.

As the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group, ACEN wants to scale up its attributable renewable capacity to 20 GW by 2030.

For this year alone, ACEN activated several solar and wind farms across Zambales, Ilocos Norte, Cagayan and Pampanga.

It likewise successfully switched on the 720-MW New England Solar in Australia and the 420-MW Masaya Solar in India.

The combined output from these newly operationalized power plants bolstered the company’s earnings  from January to September.

During the period, ACEN reported a 24-percent increase in attributable net income to P8.14 billion from P6.6 billion in the same period last year.

The growth was driven by robust renewables output both in the Philippines and abroad, heating up by 31 percent year-on-year to 4,127 GW hours.