Semirara earnings down 26%

MANILA, Philippines — Consunji-led Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) saw net profit drop by a quarter in the first six months due to the shutdown of a power plant under maintenance.

SMPC said its consolidated net income amounted to P6 billion, 26 percent lower year-on-year.

“The Unit 1 of the 2x300 MW (megawatts) was offline for the whole period because of the life extension project,” the company said.

SMPC was referring to Unit 1 of SEM-Calaca Power Corp. (SCPC), which is on a six-month life extension Program (LEP) since Dec. 30, 2018.

LEP is a cost-effective strategy to maintain and upgrade operations of existing facilities beyond its traditional lifetime, at the same time to limit environmental complications and financial risks.

Coal and Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. contributed P4.64 billion and P1.62 billion, respectively, for the first half. 

SCPC recorded a net loss of P242 million.

In the second quarter, SMPC registered higher second quarter earnings of  P3.67 billion.

SMPC said the improved numbers in WESM prices and coal sales in the second quarter tempered the drop in the first semester.

Earlier, SMPC chairman and chief executive officer Isidro Consunji said the company would book lower earnings this year and recover next year due to scheduled and unplanned outage of its generating plants.

SMPC is the only vertically-integrated power producer in the country that mines its own fuel source, allowing it to generate affordable baseload power.