Meralco posts 3% growth in net profit

Manila Electric Co. on Friday reported a 3-percent year-on-year growth in consolidated core net income for the first nine months of 2017 on the back of a 10-percent jump in revenue.

Meralco chief finance officer Betty Siy-Yap said in a briefing the power giant’s unaudited consolidated core net income for the period reached P15.4 billion from P15 billion previously.

Siy-Yap said consolidated electricity revenue rose by 10 percent to P208.8 billion this year, mainly due to the higher generation charge seen in January to September.

The increase in generation charge was attributed to the combined effects of higher fuel prices—including coil, oil and gas—and the depreciation of the peso against the US dollar.

Siy-Yap also said Meralco had sold 31,401 gigawatt-hours in the nine months to September, higher by 4 percent compared to the level in the same period last year.

She said higher volumes were observed across all customer classes — residential (up 4 percent), commercial (up 5 percent) and industrial (up 4 percent).

Oscar S. Reyes, Meralco president and chief executive, said the utility giant’s core distribution business had remained the major driver of Meralco’s growth.

“We are driving other business verticals, such as power generation, retail electricity supply and related service businesses to contribute to future growth,” Reyes said.