Meralco posts record net income of 123.1 B

Amid market and socioeconomic challenges in 2018, power utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) was able to set another record year with its reported net income rising by 13 percent to 123.1 billion from the leaner financial outcome of 120.5 billion in 2017.

The company’s consolidated core net income has also been 11 percent higher to 122.4 billion in 2018 from the year-ago level of 120.2 billion.

Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said financial indications are good, stressing further “I think this year (referring to 2019) is better than last year,” primarily with the inflation having tapered down.

He added that liquidity to the economy is good; and that essentially will have impact on power demand – primarily on prospects of volume growth.

Pangilinan similarly noted that the first two months of the year on sales growth at 2.5 percent in January; and about 2.0 percent in February could be harbingers of things to come.

From a high base of 5.6-percent sales growth last year, the power utility firm is anticipating overall sales volume of 3.0 percent this year, according to Meralco Senior Vice President Alfredo S. Panlilio, with him emphasizing that commercial and industrial end-users will also be the likely growth driver.

According to Meralco President Oscar S. Reyes, “2018 has been another strong year for Meralco partly due to relatively conducive economic environment.”

He added “the Philippines managed to move to a new trajectory of growth,” and in the case of Meralco, its income had been on sustained uptrend not just in 2018, but also in the past nine years.

In terms of electricity revenues, the utility firm logged 7.0 percent climb to 1295.4 billion vis-à-vis 1275.172 billion last year; while consolidated distribution revenues had been up 4.0 percent to 162 billion.

As anchored on last year’s income, Meralco’s core earnings per share had been at 119.88; enabling the company then to declare final regular cash dividend of 110.594 per share; including a special dividend of 15.964 per share.

In terms of energy sales volume, this has been 5.0 percent higher to 44.313 gigawatt hours compared to 2017 level. Customer count had also been up by 5.0 percent to 6.6 million.