Ayala consolidates energy, water, transport businesses

Ayala Corp. is bringing its energy, water and transport and logistics businesses to a new infrastructure holding company through AC Energy Inc.

This move was meant “to create a sizeable and agile platform that would boost its foothold within the country’s physical infrastructure space,” the company said in a regulatory filing.

For this purpose, AC Energy Inc. will be renamed AC Energy and Infrastructure Corp. and will take in AC Energy Philippines Inc., or ACEPH (formerly Phinma Energy Corp.), Manila Water Company Inc. and its unlisted unit AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp.

ACEPH itself is in the midst of a transformation, most recently absorbing AC Energy Inc.’s overseas businesses to become what the latter used to be—the Ayala group’s energy platform.

When Ayala acquired ACEPH in October 2019, the company was immediately converted into the conglomerate’s domestic platform for energy, with AC Energy Inc. infusing local assets into the subsidiary.

The end result, approved during Monday’s annual stockholders meeting held online, is that ACEPH will yet again be renamed AC Energy Corp.

During the meeting, ACEPH president John Eric Francia said the company was facing tough times as the new coronavirus disease pandemic has slashed electricity demand by 30-40 percent.

Despite this, ACEPH is expected to be back in the black this year, according to Francia.

“Notwithstanding the current challenges, the company continues to execute against our turnaround plan and establish a sustainable growth path,” he said.

ACEPH sustained a net loss of P417 million, but “[w]e expect the turnaround initiative to prosper and are aiming for a positive bottom line by 2020,” Francia said.

For this year, ACEPH is primed to continue the expansion and diversification of its power generation capacity, aiming to build its portfolio to exceed a total of 1,500 megawatts, including a significant ramping up of renewable energy sources.