AboitizPower posts P9.7B net income in first half

Aboitiz Power Corp. (AboitizPower) saw an 18 percent yearon-year (YoY) increase in consolidated Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), from P18.4 billion to P21.8 billion.

“Our core power generation and power distribution businesses have continued to post significant growth. Our new power plants are contributing significantly while our existing power plants are continuously improving in terms of availability and reliability. We will continue, likewise, to take advantage of the economic growth in our franchise areas by providing reliable and cost-effective power coupled with the best possible service,” said Antonio R. Moraza, AboitizPower president and chief operating officer.

“Our projects in the pipeline are on track and continue to be aligned with our balanced-mix strategy. These projects will push us to reaching our target of 4,000 MW of net attributable capacity by 2020,” Moraza added.

However, increased interest expense and depreciation narrowed the growth at the core net income level to six percent YoY, from P9.8 billion to P10.5 billion.

The company posted a net income of P9.7 billion for the first half of the year, a two percent decline YoY attributed to non-recurring losses of P744 million (versus last year’s gain of P130 million) from foreign exchange losses on the revaluation of dollar-denominated liabilities.

At the core net income lev- el, the generation business grew eight percent YoY from P8.2 billion to P8.9 billion. For the period, AboitizPower’s capacity sold increased by 33 percent YoY, from 2,033 megawatts (MW) to 2,706 MW, mainly driven by the additional capacity of GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd. Co. and higher capacity sold from hydro units due to better hydrology in 2017.

As for its power distribution business, the firm posted a net income contribution of P1.8 billion up by three percent YOY./