Phinma Energy halves 6-month net income

MANILA, Philippines - Phinma Energy Corp. nearly halved its net earnings in the first semester of 2017 on the back of higher costs and expenses and intense competition in the retail market.

Phinma Energy said it earned P298 million in the first half of the year, a 45 percent drop from P542 million last year, on lower electricity prices.

The company was able to achieve a significant volume of customer migration due to the implementation of the Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) scheme.

Despite the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court, Phima Energy was able to corner a 14 percent share of the retail electricity supply (RES) market.

The company registered P8.32 billion in revenues, 17 percent higher compared to last year’s P7.09 billion.

The increase in revenues from the sale of electricity was attributable to the higher energy sales from Phinma Energy’s power supply business as the company was able to close new RES contracts.

However, heightened competition and increasing penetration of must-dispatch variable renewable energy (VRE) have driven market prices of electricity downward. And as a result of the TRO, the number of additional customers under RCOA were below targeted volumes, Phinma Energy said.

Phinma Energy said it is continuously working to manage supply portfolio costs to remain competitive and is hopeful that more contestable customers will be encouraged to participate voluntarily in RCOA.

Earlier, the company said it is aggressively accelerating its retail electricity business to take advantage of the country’s transition to RCOA and become a significant player in the retail market.

Phinma Energy – formerly called Trans-Asia Oil and Development Corp. – has been a licensed RES and wholesale aggregator since 2006.

It will source its supply from its portfolio of power generation projects namely, the 54-megawatt (MW) wind farm in San Lorenzo, Guimaras completed in 2014 and the 2x135-MW South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. coal plant in Calaca, Batangas completed in 2015 and in 2016.

It also owns Power Barges 101, 102 and 103 which have a combined capacity of 96 MW.

“Together with increasing electricity demand due to the planned construction activities in the country, the company remains positive on its prospects for the second half of the year,” Phinma Energy said.