FIRST GEN Corp.’s net income in January to September dropped 11 percent to $196 million (P9.9 billion) from $220 million (P11.5 billion) in the same period a year ago, mainly due to lower electricity sales.
It reported on Wednesday that revenues from the sale of electricity during the period declined to $1.363 million (P68.6 billion) compared to $1.616 million (P84.2 billion) a year ago.
The natural gas portfolio accounted for 60 percent of First Gen’s total consolidated revenues.
“Revenues were 19 percent lower in the first three quarters of 2020 mainly due to lower average natural gas prices coupled with a decline in the gas plants’ dispatch. The Avion power plant did, however, generate fresh revenues from its ancillary service sales,” the company said.
Revenues from its subsidiary, Energy Development Corp. (EDC), stood lower at $43 million (P3.1 billion) at end-September this year from $547million (P28.5 billion) in the same period last year, mainly due to the lower prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). This accounts for 37 percent of the company’s consolidated revenues.
First Gen Hydro Power Corp., owner of the 132-MW Pantabangan-Masiway hydroelectric power plants, generated weaker revenues at $26 million (P1.3 billion) from $37 million (P1.9 billion) due to lower WESM sales in terms of volume and price. The hydro plants account for 2 percent of First Gen’s total consolidated revenues.
Meanwhile, First Gen’s recurring net income attributable to equity holders stood at $190 million (P9.6 billion) in January to September, down 12 percent from $217 million (P11.3 billion).
Despite this, the company said it is pushing through with its LNG (liquefied natural gas) development, saying the entry and ready access of affordable LNG supply from other gas-producing countries is a key initiative towards the decarbonization program for the Philippines.
“First Gen is gaining a lot of positive momentum in developing its LNG platform. We very much appreciate receiving the DOE’s [Department of Energy] approval of the Permit to Construct, Expand, Rehabilitate and Modify for the construction of an Interim Offshore LNG Terminal (IOT Project) in the First Gen Clean Energy Complex in Batangas last September.
We likewise signed a Joint Cooperation Agreement with Tokyo Gas for the joint development of the IOT Project. Since then, we have selected McConell Dowell as the preferred tenderer for the EPC [engineering, procurement and construction] of the IOT Project and have announced our plans to explore the viability of small-scale liquefied natural gas solutions in our industrial park,” First Gen President and COO Francis Giles B. Puno said.
The company said it is confident that economy will recover from the effects of the lockdown, as it sees a recovery in power demand in the third quarter.
First Gen has 3,492MW of installed capacity in its portfolio, which accounts for 21 percent of the country’s gross generation.