Semirara's 2022 bottomline reaps benefits of expensive coal

MANILA, Philippines — The profits of Consunji-led Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) ballooned in 2022 as the company reaped the gains from expensive energy costs. 

In a disclosure sent to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, SMPC reported its consolidated net income skyrocketed 146% year-on-year to P39.9 billion in 2022.

The company attributed the rosy earnings to soaring market prices, higher spot electricity sales and domestic coal shipments. 

“Diversifying our market focus allowed us to get the best price for our inventory,” said Maria Cristina Gotianun, company president and chief operatiing officer, said.

The publicly-listed energy firm noted it had reduced its dependency on China, which pivoted to cheap Russian coal imports. For 2022, SMPC said it turned its eye towards the domestic, South Korean and other ASEAN markets.

As it is, SMPC reported domestic coal sales rose 33% year-on-year to 7.7 million metric tons. Coal exports plunged 24% on-year to 7.1 million MT. 

The company noted that the average selling price of Semirara coal fattened by 91% on a yearly basis to P5,136 in 2022, surging on account of rising index prices and having sold higher-grade coal. 

On the other hand, the combined spot electricity sales from its subsidiaries swelled 83% year-on-year to 1,881 gigawatt hours in 2022. 

The higher sales were reflected by pricier energy sold by power distributors to Filipinos in 2022, as demand and costs rose amid inflationary pressures brought by the domestic economy’s reopening. 

Despite this, the company faced headwinds in the final quarter of 2022 amid higher coal sales and a recovery in domestic shipments. 

Its bottom line sagged 34% on-year to P3.9 billion, citing “higher stripping costs, lower average foreign exchange rate and an income tax and related expense of P1 billion in relation to the deferral of the Molave mine income tax holiday for 2020.”