First Gen posts 28% growth in 9-month net income

MANILA  -Higher electricity prices and better returns from its geothermal portfolio boosted Lopez-led First Gen Corp.’s net income in the first nine months of the year by 28 percent to P13.8 billion.

In a stock exchange disclosure on Friday, First Gen said its geothermal power plants under renewable energy unit Energy Development Corp. (EDC) enjoyed higher sales and operating income as electricity prices improved, resulting in a 58-percent growth in earnings at P5.7 billion.

Its natural gas business, meanwhile, saw a 4-percent increase in recurring earnings to P8.1 billion due to the full availability of the 420-megawatt (MW) San Gabriel and 97-MW Avion power plants in Batangas province, along with lower fuel costs.

“The First Gen portfolio continues to deliver a positive performance in 2023 and there are still a few more milestones that we expect to achieve toward the end of the year, including the commercial operations of our LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal at the First Gen Clean Energy Complex,” First Gen president and chief operating officer Francis Giles Puno said.

First Gen announced in May that it would set aside $90 million this year to fully operate its LNG terminal.

READ: First Gen readies floating LNG facility

It is also set to lease the facility to ports tycoon Enrique Razon Jr.’s Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. to support the latter’s gas aggregation strategy.

First Gen currently operates four natural gas-fired power plants, which supply a fifth of the country’s electricity needs.

As for First Gen’s hydropower platform, recurring earnings dipped by 12 percent to P316 million as the Pantabangan-Masiway power plants reduced their volume of electricity sold after transferring its supply contract to EDC.

First Gen’s revenues from January to September, however, declined to P104.7 billion from P105.2 billion due to a drop in natural gas and liquid fuel prices.

The natural gas portfolio contributed 65 percent to the company’s total consolidated revenues, followed by EDC’s geothermal, wind and solar plants at 33 percent. The remaining 2 percent came from First Gen’s hydro power plants.

READ: First Gen doubles capex budget after Casecnan hydro win

Puno also reiterated that they expect the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. to turn over the 165-MW Casecnan hydroelectric power plant to his company in early 2024, bringing in another source of income for First Gen.

First Gen subsidiary Fresh River Lakes Corp. won competitive bidding for the Casecnan facility in May with a $526-million offer.

It is expected to augment supply in the Pantabangan-Masiway hydro plant, which is running at reduced capacity due to low water levels.