EDC profit drops 6.6.%

MANILA, Philippines — Lopez-led Energy Development Corp. (EDC) reported a 6.6 percent decline in net earnings to P11.5 billion last year due to lower generation and spot market prices.

EDC attributed the earnings decline to lower revenues and higher provision for income taxes amounting to P658 million.

In terms of energy sales volume, EDC sold 9,111.8 gigawatt-hours (GWh) by the end of the year, lower by two percent.

Revenues dropped by 10.2 percent to P37.62 billion due to lower generation coupled with low wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) prices.

Subsidiary Bac-Man Geothermal Inc. (BGI) reported a 26.5 percent decrease in revenues to P4.9 billion mainly driven by by lower average price during the year. It operates the 120-MW Bacman I and 20-MW Bacman II.

Revenues of FG Hydro Power Corp., the owner of the 132 MW Pantabangan-Masiway hydroelectric power plants, slipped by 13.5 percent to P2.07 billion as the average WESM spot prices plunged by 51.3 percent.

Electricity generated during the year also fell 24.9 percent due to the lower Pantabangan reservoir elevation which brought down the plant’s dependable capacity by 25.1 percent.

EDC Siklab Power Corp., which operates the 5.17-MW solar plant, registered lower revenues of P33.6 billion due to reduced Gaisano Capital Mall loads due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unified Leyte Geothermal Energy Inc. (ULGEI) also reported a 37.6 percent slide in revenues to P1.14 billion due to lower average selling price and volume.

On the other hand, EDC Burgos Wind Power Corp. (EBWPC) saw revenues rise to $87.7 million mainly due to the feed-in tariff (FIT) escalation adjustment for the years 2016 to 2020 amounting to $24.2 million and higher actual generated sales volume.

Recurring net income decreased by 17.7 percent to P9.9 billion on the back of lower recurring revenue and higher recurring provision for income tax.

EDC’s over 1,480 MW total installed capacity accounts for 20 percent of the country’s total installed renewable energy capacity.

Meanwhile, its over 1,200-MW geothermal portfolio comprises 62 percent of the country’s total installed geothermal capacity and has put the Philippines on the map as the third largest geothermal producer in the world.