Semirara net income down 61% in H1

MANILA, Philippines — Listed Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) recorded a 61-percent drop in its first semester net earnings as the coronavirus pandemic dragged the prices and demand for coal and electricity.

In a statement, SMPC said it booked P1 billion in consolidated net income after tax in the second quarter, ending the first semester with a net income of P2.2 billion.

However, the first semester net income was a 61-percent drop from the P5.7 billion recorded in the same period last year.

The company said the pandemic-induced containment measures dragged down coal demand and average selling price, as well as electricity sales and average selling price from March to June.

“We saw historic dips in prices, particularly in April when global Newcastle coal prices reached $49.30 per metric ton, the sharpest drop in six years,” SMPC president and COO Cristina Gotianun said.

“The decrease in spot market prices in April was also staggering. From P6.71 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) last year, it plunged to P1.40 per kWh,” she said.

In particular, earnings contribution from the coal business fell by 59 percent to P1.8 billion due to weak coal sales and average selling price.

From January to June, coal sales contracted by 27 percent from 7.9 million metric tons (MT) to 5.7 million MT, while average selling price per MT fell 21 percent from P2,229 to P1,765.

Meanwhile, power subsidiaries Sem-Calaca Power Corp. (SCPC) and Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. (SLPGC) recorded mixed results in the first semester.

SCPC contributed P726 million to the parent company, a turnaround from P242 million in losses during the same period last year.

The company attributed the improvement mainly to higher energy sales, which grew by 22 percent from 899 gigawatt hours (GWh) to 1,095 GWh.

The company’s sales volume improved following the completion of its life extension program for units 1 and 2, which allowed the company to reduce its outages by 53 percent year-on-year from 5,879 hours to 2,750 hours.

SLPGC booked P236 million in first half losses compared to P1.6 billion in earnings last year due to the combined effect of a 43-percent drop in energy sales from 856 GWh to 489 GWh and a 38-percent cut in average selling price from P4.73 per kWh to P2.92 per kWh.