Meralco income hits P13.1B as sales eclipse prepandemic level

FILE PHOTO: Meralco logo. INQUIRER/Edwin Bacasmas

Listed power company Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) consolidated core net income rose by 15 percent to P13.1 billion in the first semester as energy sales surpassed prepandemic levels.

During a virtual briefing, Meralco likewise reported its consolidated net income during the period improved by 32 percent to P13.1 billion from P9.9 billion previously.

It accounted for adjustments due to the enactment of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act and recognized foreign exchange gains this year as against losses in 2021.

Consolidated revenues climbed by 34 percent to P199.6 billion from P149.1 billion, driven by “higher pass-through generation and other charges on account of [the persistent] increase in global fuel prices” and growth in power generation revenues.

The power generation business alone contributed P13.6 billion to total revenues.

Relaxed restrictions

Energy sales inched up by 6 percent to 23,968 gigawatt hours, which exceeded prepandemic sales, bolstered by the strong growth of Meralco’s commercial segment. Residential and commercial segments each cornered 35 percent of total sales while industrial customers comprised the remaining 30 percent.

Commercial sales grew by 11 percent due to relaxed quarantine restrictions that allowed establishments including retail, restaurants and hotels to operate “at practically full capacity” and gatherings from rallies to concerts to resume.

“The education sector grew with the utilization of schools as polling precincts and with the resumption of limited face-to-face classes and commencement exercises, while the transport sector benefited from the government’s implementation of the ‘Libreng Sakay’ program for MRT and public utility vehicles,” Meralco said.

Household demand

Meanwhile, residential sales went up by 2 percent with the sustained energization of new customers.

Meralco said household demand was tempered, however, “by return-to-onsite work and higher vaccination levels.” It also said expense-conscious households reduced electricity consumption because of rising commodity prices.

The industrial segment posted a 4-percent increase “despite the logistical concerns from the shortage of raw materials and high production costs.”According to Meralco, the semiconductor industry maintained modest growth on continuing global demand for electronic gadgets due to hybrid work and school arrangements.

“Food and beverage, and plastics industries benefited from higher commercial activity and demand for essentials by return-to-onsite workers; while demand from cement and steel industries increased as they caught up from lost production in 2021,” it added.

Meralco’s first-half customer count reached 7.5 million, up by 3 percent, which it attributed to record-high energization of project-covered and ordinary service applications mostly from mixed-use buildings, subdivisions and telecommunications customers.

For the period, Meralco spent P14.2 billion in capital expenditures, 62 percent of which went to new connections, asset renewals and load growth projects, among others. INQ