IMPROVING DEMAND IN MINDANAO POWERS ALSONS EARNINGS

Alcantara-led Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) said net earnings in the January to September period jumped as recovering electricity demand in Mindanao buoyed profitability.

Net income during the nine months climbed by 18 percent to P1.35 billion. In the third quarter alone, earnings swelled by more than 140 percent to P658.22 million.

Revenues grew by 31 percent to P9.25 billion, with the 210-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant of Sarangani Energy Corp. (SEC) remaining the key revenue and income driver.

SEC currently provides baseload or uninterrupted power supply to key areas in Mindanao such as Sarangani Province, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Dipolog, Dapitan, Pagadian, Samal, Tagum, Kidapawan and Butuan.

Another income driver is the 100-MW diesel power plant of Western Mindanao Power Corp., which delivers electricity to Zamboanga City and ancillary services or power reserves to National Grid Corp. of the Philippines to help stabilize the power grid in the western part of the region.

The “steady rise in revenues” was primarily attributed “to the constant improvement in power demand in Mindanao, as day-today activities in the island continue to normalize and recover from the effects of the pandemic.”

“We expect power demand in Mindanao to be stable for the rest of the year,” said Philip Edward Sagun, deputy chief financial officer of ACR.

Currently, ACR has four power plants in its portfolio with an aggregate capacity of 468 megawatts, serving more than eight million people in 14 cities and 11 provinces in the region.