Forex losses drag down AboitizPower income

MANILA, Philippines -  Aboitiz Power Corp. registered a 13-percent drop in first quarter income to P4.4 billion due to foreign exchange (forex) losses.

The company said it recognized non-recurring losses of P577 million on the revaluation of dollar-denominated liabilities and mark-to-market of derivatives of its power generation business.

This compares to gains of P242 million it booked in the same period last year.

Core net income, on the other hand, grew four percent from P4.8 billion to P5 billion, tempered by higher interest expense and depreciation.

Its power generation business contributed P3.6 billion, 15 percent lower as compared to the same period last year, due to the forex losses.

Its attributable net energy sold amounted to 3,448 gigawatt-hours (gwh), almost the same as last year’s 3,451 gwh.

The company said the contribution of GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd. Co. (GMCP) and the increase in its hydro plants’ output were offset by the outages of Therma South Inc., the lower dispatch of oil units, and lower steam supply affecting the Tiwi plant output as it continued to recover from the effects of Typhoon Nina.

“We continue to leverage on our portfolio of renewable and thermal power plants, giving us the flexibility to respond to the needs of our customers and the market while assuring our customers of reliability of supply and our technical support,” AboitizPower president and COO Antonio Moraza said.

Meanwhile, the power distribution business’ net income contribution increased seven percent from P851 million to P908 million on the back of higher margins even as the segment booked flat sales at 1,208 gwh.

The group’s gross margin on a per kilowatt-hour basis for the period increased to P1.59 from P1.46 for the period because of lower operating costs from the lower dispatch of Davao Light’s Bajada Power Plant versus the same period last year.

 “Our distribution units continue to grow, riding on the expanding economy, renewed confidence in our government and the continued influx of investments into our distribution areas,” Moraza said.