PANGILINAN-LED MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) reported a 14% increase in its consolidated core net income to P40.02 billion for the first nine months, driven by revenue growth and stronger results from its distribution utility segment despite flat energy sales.
“Based on the growth of our power generation and the steady performance of our core distribution in the past nine months, we stay positive that we will achieve our full-year core profit guidance of P50 billion,” Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said in a statement on Monday.
The distribution utility business accounted for P21.94 billion of the company’s total core income for the period, while power generation contributed P14.71 billion and the retail electricity supplier and service subsidiaries added P3.37 billion.
Consolidated revenues rose 4.6% to P371.77 billion for the January-to-September period from P355.42 billion a year earlier, mainly driven by electricity sales.
“We are relying on the contribution of power generation which has helped us cover any distribution utilities shortfall. Although overall we are also looking at contributions from our subsidiaries,” Meralco Senior Vice-President and Chief Finance Officer Betty C. Siy-Yap said during the company’s financial and operational briefing on Monday.
Operating costs and expenses increased 4.16% to P332.26 billion from P318.99 billion last year.
Meralco’s system-wide power sales volume reached 50,880 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in the first nine months, up 0.5% from 50,641 GWh a year ago.
The distribution utility segment accounted for 41,358 GWh, power generation arm Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGEN) contributed 20,226 GWh, and the retail electricity business 5,524 GWh.
“We were hoping for a normalization of weather patterns but we see worsening weather patterns. So that actually and the flooding brought by the rains impeded the mobility of both residential and commercial customers,” Meralco Senior Vice-President and Chief Revenue Officer Ferdinand O. Geluz said.
Meralco has revised downward its energy sales growth forecast to 0.4%-0.8% by yearend from an earlier projection of 1-2%.
“We somehow changed our forecast to 0.4 or 0.8% by the end of the year,” Mr. Geluz said.
At the local bourse on Monday, Meralco shares slipped by P4 or 0.69% to close at P575 apiece.
Meralco’s majority owner, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
