Meralco Q1 income hits P2.1B
MANILA, Philippines–Manila Electric Co., the country’s biggest power distributor, posted a modest 6-percent growth in its consolidated reported net income to P2.1 billion in the first quarter, despite the slight decrease in the volume of energy sold during the period.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the distribution utility also reported that its consolidated core net income rose by 64 percent to P3.25 billion in the first three months, an improvement from a year-ago level of P1.98 billion.
“We begin 2011 with an uninterrupted momentum. The continued energization of new industries and infrastructure developments support further growth of the company,” said Meralco chair Manuel M. Lopez.
According to Meralco, the company’s consolidated revenue, of which electricity sales accounted for 98 percent, dipped by 6 percent to P57.37 billion, due largely to lower average pass-through costs and the decline in the volume of energy sold.
Total consolidated revenue from the sale of electricity alone reached P56.2 billion. The equivalent energy sold for the first three months of the year stood at 6,991 gigawatt-hours, down from 6,996 gWh in the same period last year.
This decline, according to Meralco, was due to the decrease in the sales to the industrial sector, resulting from the slowdown in merchandise export, which used to be the main driver of energy sales in 2010. Basic metals manufacturing, nonmetallic mineral products and textiles sub-sectors accounted for the decreases.
The volume of energy sold to the commercial customers, however, grew by 1 percent as of end-March.
Meanwhile, Meralco also reported that its pass-on system loss charge was lower during the first quarter at 51 centavos per kilowatt-hour, from the 54 per kWh recorded during the same period last year.
This decline was due to the lower 12-month moving average system loss of 7.62 percent as of end March, considered the lowest in Meralco’s history.
