First Gen’s earnings down 17% in 9M

Revenue was also down two percent.

First Gen Corporation said its attributable recurring net income fell 17% to $205m in the first nine months of the year amidst a decline in revenue due to lower electricity sales.

In a regulatory filing, the company said it recorded a revenue of $1.85b, down two percent from last year, due to a decline in volumes of electricity sold during the first three quarters. Natural gas portfolio accounted for 65% of First Gen’s total consolidated revenues, Energy Development Corp.’s geothermal, wind, and solar plants for 33%, and the balance from the hydro business unit.

Natural gas business earnings rose 5% to $154m, driven by strong performance from San Gabriel and Santa Rita power plants. Furthermore, the LNG Terminal, which is under this business unit, generated commissioning revenues from its pre-commercial operations and terminal fees.

EDC’s recurring attributable earnings, meanwhile, fell 43% to $58m, blaming it on lower sales and operating income from geothermal plants. This was attributed to a reduction in electricity prices and electricity sold, and higher operating expenses from steamfield maintenance and workover activities.

The unit also incurred higher interest expenses from new debt.

As for the hydro unit, it recorded recurring earnings at $14m, with the Casecnan Hydroelectric Power Plant contributing $12m of recurring net income for its seven months of operations after its turnover to First Gen.

This offset the lower recurring income of the 132 megawatt (MW) Pantabangan-Masiway power plants (PMHC) of $3m caused by a reduction in the volume of electricity sold due to its low water reservoir levels. It also was affected by lower Wholesale Electricity Spot Market prices.

“We expect this situation to reverse next year, as we see additional baseload renewable energy to come in from our ongoing 40-well drilling program and from the 83MW of additional geothermal plants that we are commissioning currently,” First Gen President and COO Francis Giles Puno said.