Semirara income down 21% to P 9.6B

Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) saw its consolidated income fall 21 percent to P9.6 billion in 2019 from P12.1 billion previously despite a record coal output volume and as power plants shut down for improvements and repair.

In its coal business alone, SMPC chalked up a new record of 15.2 million metric tons, which was 17 percent bigger than 12.9 million MT in 2018.

The DMCI subsidiary attributed this to a combination of higher mining capacities and good weather condition.

“Consequently, coal sales posted a record high shipment of 15.6 million MT, a commanding 35-percent increase from the 11.6 million MT achieved [in the previous] year,” SMPC said in a regulatory filing.

Of the coal produced in 2019, about a third went to local buyers and the rest was exported.Domestic sales went down mainly because both generators—with a combined 300 megawatts of capacity—of Sem-Calaca Power Corp. underwent a life extension program and thus used less of the fossil fuel.

Also, coal prices were “depressed,” with the average selling price falling 22 percent.

“The negative impact of the decline in coal prices was mitigated by the record high coal shipment performance,” SMPC said.

In 2019, SMPC’s coal revenue improved by 5 percent to P32.3 billion, but coal profits dropped 23 percent to P7.4 billion.

As for electricity sales, the volume surged by 45 percent to 1,854 gigawatt-hours from 1,279 GWh.

“Gross energy revenue went up by 61 percent to P8.1 billion from P5 billion … with the significant increase in volume sold and higher WESM (wholesale electricity spot market) prices,” the company said.