Semirara net income up 279% in April-june

CONSUNJI-LED Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) registered a net income of P4 billion in the second quarter, up 279 percent year-overyear, due to record-high coal sales and prices and higher Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) prices.

This brings its first-half net income to P6.3 billion, a 181-percent jump from the same period a year ago.

Core profit in the second quarter stood at P4.1 billion, up 273 percent. The numbers at end-june, stood at P6.4 billion, a growth of nearly three times from last year’s P2.2 billion.

SMCPC, the largest domestic coal producer, said 75 percent of the firsthalf net income came mostly from the coal segment, while Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. (SLPGC) and Sem-calaca Power Corp. (SCPC) contributed 16 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

SCPC and SLPGC generate baseload power for the Luzon-visayas grid. Both supply electricity through bilateral contract quantity and the WESM. “The coal and electricity markets staged a strong rebound from the negative impacts of strict coronavirus lockdowns last year. Higher coal production and reduced internal usage also allowed SMPC to boost its export sales, benefitting from robust China demand and the weak peso.”

Coal shipments nearly doubled to 4.9 million metric tons (MMT), an all-time high in terms of quarterly sales. This was due to a 167-percent surge in exports and a 31-percent recovery in domestic sales.

In terms of coal prices, strong China demand amid tight supply boosted Newscatle coal prices, which peaked at $136 in June, the highest level in more than a decade. SMPC said this led to a 49-percent recovery in average selling price from P1,601/MT to P2,393/MT. SMPC sees sustained high global coal prices at around $149 per MT until the end of the year largely due to increased Chinese demand during their summer and winter seasons.