Typhoon ‘Odette’ gnawed on Aboitiz Power’s H1 earnings

Aboitiz Power Corp. booked a first-half consolidated net income of P10 billion, down by 2 percent from the same period last year, due to the fallout from Typhoon “Odette.”

“If the company excluded the impact of liquidated damage, business interruption claims and Typhoon Odette, the first half of 2022 would have resulted in a 15-percent gain in core net income and a 23-percent gain in consolidated net income compared [with] the same period in 2021,” the flagship unit of Aboitiz Equity Ventures said in a regulatory filing.

In the second quarter alone, the listed firm posted a 79-percent increment in consolidated net income, which settled at P7.1 billion. It recognized nonrecurring gains of P792 million, mainly due to the gains on subsidiary Therma Luzon Inc.’s hedging mechanism alongside foreign exchange windfall from the appreciation of the US dollars.

AboitizPower said without the one-off gains, core net income in the first six months stood at P9.2 billion, down by 9 percent from P10.1 billion.

Supertyphoon’s wrath

Without the disruptions in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette, which had struck the country in December last year, earnings would have been higher because of the fresh contribution of GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co., which operates the 1,336-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Mariveles, Bataan. This was alongside higher availability of the GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd. Co.’s 632-MW coal-fired facility, also in Mariveles and timing windfall on the account of higher indices and higher water inflows.

“We have seen an increase in peak demand in the Luzon and Visayas grids during the first half of 2022, exceeding levels from the past three years, including 2019, which was a prepandemic year,” said AboitizPower president and CEO Emmanuel Rubio.

AboitizPower reported that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of its generation and retail supply business hit P23.1 billion while the EBITDA of its distribution business reached P3 billion.

“We are optimistic that we will be able to maintain our high plant availability performance throughout the rest of the year, given the increasing economic activity across the country,” added Rubio. —Jordeene B. Lagare