First Gen’s net income down 8% YoY to $194m in first 9 months

The result was due to lower earnings in natural gas.

Philippines-based First Gen Corporation posted an 8% year-on-year (YoY) decline in net income in the first nine months due to reduced earnings in its natural gas platform.

In a disclosure, the company said its natural gas plants were affected by higher taxes, interest expenses, and different operational issues at the 420-megawatt (MW) San Gabriel Power Plant and the 97MW Avion Power Plant.

The result is despite that 24% YoY revenue growth to around $2b which was driven by electricity sales attributed to elevated fuel and wholesale electricity spot market prices.

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Natural gas accounted for 5% of the company’s total consolidated revenues, whilst 31% was from Energy Development Corporation’s geothermal, wind, and solar plants. Hydro plants held the remaining 4%.

First Gen’s natural segment saw a 13% decline in revenue, with the San Gabriel plant posting lower capacity fees in January due to insufficient gas supply from Malampaya which was worsened by the need to buy replacement power in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, Avion plant’s Unit 1 suffered unscheduled shortages due to turbine damage and only became operational in February. Its margins for merchant power sales were also affected by high fuel prices.

The gas platform also paid higher income taxes.

EDC’s recurring and attributable earnings jumped 6% YoY to $66m, whilst its hydro platform was almost unchanged from last year at $6m.