SMPC re-schedules ₱3.7-B capex to 2021
Owing it to realities that this year will be an extremely difficult stretch for the company, the Consunji-led Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC) indicated that it will be re-scheduling ₱3.7 billion worth of capital expenditure (capex) projects to next year due to “unprecedented disruption” posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
SMPC Chairman and CEO Isidro A. Consunji announced during their July 3 annual stockholders meeting that despite the deferment of this year’s programmed capex, the company remains in a strong financial position to withstand the devastating economic impact of the health crisis.
“Though cash flows are tight, we believe we can manage,” he stressed, noting that the firm would “be able to meet cash-fixed cost obligations to creditors and dues to the government.”
Consunji added the company has ₱5.0 billion worth of short-term loans and ₱16 billion worth of long-term financial obligations that it intends to pare this year, and it will be partly utilizing internally generated cash for that.
On top of that, he said, “we have more than enough credit lines that we can tap,” emphasizing that the company has ₱39 billion unused credit line as of end-March this year.
SMPC similarly paid ₱5.3-billion cash dividend to its shareholders this March 2020, and Consunji stated that in line with their prudent step for cash preservation “the company would be able to meet its minimum cash dividend obligation to shareholders” for next year.
The firm said it will also defer hiring for non-core positions; reduce non-essential business expenses and it shall opt for disposal of non-core assets.
Maria Cristina C. Gotianun, president and chief operating officer of SMPC, further reported that the company successfully completed the ₱10-billion life extension program for their 600-megawatt Sem-Calaca Power Corporation (SCPC) coal-fired power plant in Batangas and had been able to bring back and uprate the generating efficiencies of the two units of the facility at the level of their 300MW installed capacities.
The generating unit one of the plant returned to commercial operations in September last year; while the second unit had been synchronized back to the grid in May this year.
On the 20 percent drop in SMPC’s income last year, Gotianun said profitability had been pulled down by the SCPC plant’s shutdown last year; despite the higher electricity spot market prices and the all-time high generation of its other power plant – the Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corporation – which turned in an output of 2,070 gigawatt hours (GWh) last year.