Power firm reports 338% jump in income

Publicly listed SPC Power Corp. posted a 338-percent increase in its consolidated income to P815.5 million in the first half of 2012 from P186 million in the same period last year.

The growth was buoyed largely by higher earnings posted by its affiliates and new subsidiaries.

In a filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange, SPC Power said income contributions from its affiliates jumped to P459 million in the first half from only P19.4 million a year ago. This was attributed largely to the contribution of the 200-megawatt coal-fired power plant of KSPC, a joint venture between Korea Electric Power Corp. and SPC Power, which started commercial operations last year.

SPC Malaya Power Corp. (SMPC), which was commissioned in October 2011, contributed P203.7million to the consolidated net income in the first half, while wholly owned subsidiary SPC Island Power Corp. (SIPC) brought in P89.7 million in the same period, a reversal of the net loss of P3.4 million posted a year ago.

SMPC operates and maintains the 650-MW Malaya thermal plant in Pililia, Rizal. Its contract, however, is set to expire in October this year.

In the meantime, SIPC, which is also a wholly owned subsidiary, operates the diesel-fired power plants in Panay and Bohol.

The diesel-fired power plants are being tapped to boost power supply during the summer months and when large baseload facilities are down.

The company reported consolidated revenues of P1.14 billion in the first half of the year, up 52 percent from P750 million registered a year ago. Consolidated cost of services rose by 19 percent to P704 million due mainly to the operating expenses of SMPC plants.

As of the end of June, the company’s total assets were up by 12.7 percent to P5.5 billion from P4.9 billion as of the end of December 2011. The growth was attributed mainly to the increase in the value of its current assets and in the amount of investments in its affiliates.