EDC 2017 profit slips by 4% to P8.8B

Energy Development Corp. posted a recurring net income of P8.8 billion in 2017, down 4 percent from 2016 mainly due to calamities that hit Leyte where the company’s geothermal facilities are located.

In a statement, EDC said its consolidated revenue slipped by 3 percent to P33.3 billion.

These reductions were due to the 6.5 magnitude earthquake that hit Leyte Island in July last year and Typhoon Urduja that struck in December.

“Our Leyte unit, which generated almost 45 percent of our revenue in 2016, was on track for a record year last year until it got struck by two major calamities,” EDC chief financial officer Nestor Vasay said.

“Despite the initial shock from the earthquake in July and from Urduja in December, our team worked hard to successfully restore much-needed electricity to our countrymen in the Visayas region,” he said.

He said EDC was able to restore 40 percent of its pre-quake capacity in Leyte within 10 days after the earthquake, revenue from its largest business unit fell by P800 million.

Higher contracted volume allowed EDC’s Bacman geothermal business in Sorsogon to deliver an additional P900 million in revenue, offsetting the lower volume of power generated at its Palinpinon plants in Negros Oriental.