ACEN Corp., the listed energy platform of the Ayala group, expects “robust growth” in earnings by 2026, driven by new power projects scheduled to come online, according to its chief financial officer (CFO).
“I think we’d expect to see pretty robust growth because we have good visibility on our project pipeline and new projects coming online over the next two to three years,” ACEN CFO Jonathan Back told reporters last week.
Mr. Back said that this year would be “a little bit slower” compared to 2024, as the company does not have as much new capacity coming online.
“We’re in a slightly lumpy business, so there will be years with very fast growth, like last year, and then there will be years where growth is flatter. Also, some of the projects that Patrice Clausse was referring to will only fully come online toward the end of the year, like the Monsoon project in Laos,” he said.
“So, there are some timing effects,” he added.
Based on a presentation from ACEN, the company has ongoing developments across its domestic and international projects, progressing toward its target of 20 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2030.
The majority of the projects in the pipeline are set for completion by 2026, including the 300-megawatt (MW) Palauig 2 Solar power project and the 200-MW SanMar Solar power project, both located in Zambales.
Outside the Philippines, ACEN is scheduled to complete the 80-MW Solarscape & Dayasinar Solar project in Malaysia, the 68-MW Sonagazi Solar project in Bangladesh, and the New England Battery Energy Storage System project in Australia.
For this year, the company anticipates the completion of the 520-MW Stubbo Solar project in Australia, the 600-MW Monsoon Wind project in Laos, the 153-MW Maharashtra commercial and industrial (C&I) hybrid solar-wind project in India, and the 129-MW Stockyard Wind project in Texas.
“ACEN continues to progress toward our goals, notwithstanding the global headwinds impacting the energy transition. The company remains committed to scaling up renewables in the Philippines and across the region,” said ACEN President and Chief Executive Officer Eric T. Francia.
To date, ACEN holds 7 GW of attributable renewable energy capacity across operational, under-construction, and committed projects. Its footprint spans the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Laos, and the United States.
For 2024, ACEN reported a 27% increase in its attributable net income to P9.36 billion, driven by higher generation output.
Revenues grew by 2.2% to P37.3 billion from P36.5 billion a year ago.
At the local bourse on Tuesday, shares in the company closed unchanged at P2.69 apiece. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
