ACEN’s net income surged 94% to P4.2b in 6 months on higher renewables output

By Alena Mae S. Flores – August 3, 2023, 9:50 pm
from manilastandard.net

ACEN Corp., the energy platform of the Ayala Group, said Thursday net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company surged 94 percent in the first half to P4.2 billion, as it emerged from the headwinds it experienced a year ago.

ACEN said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange the strong performance was accompanied by a rise in overhead, as it ramped up manpower in support of the acceleration of its renewables expansion.

Consolidated revenues rose 28 percent in the first six months to P20.5 billion, driven by the net generation boost due to the stronger wind regime and higher operating capacity with testing and commissioning of new projects.

This allowed ACEN to achieve a net selling merchant position amid strong prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, the trading floor of electricity, it said.

“Our growth continues to be robust midway through 2023. We’ve made considerable progress with the continued ramp-up of our projects, helping provide much-needed supply to the Philippines and across the region. This has transitioned us to a net selling position in the Philippine spot market and strengthened our financial performance,” ACEN president and chief executive Eric Francia said.

Net income attributable to equity holders of the company also went up in the second quarter to P2.2 billion from P1.77 billion a year earlier, while revenues increased to P11.33 billion from P8.56 billion.

ACEN’s attributable earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, including share of EBITDA from non-consolidated operating associates and joint ventures, rose 20 percent to P9.4 billion in the first half.

The Philippine operations contributed P4.1 billion to EBITDA, a 48 percent rise year-on-year, boosted by a strong Northern Luzon wind regime and the portfolio’s swing to a net seller position.

International operation’s EBITDA grew 17 percent to P5.5 billion with stronger wind resources and the ongoing commissioning of the 521-megawatt New England Solar farm in Australia, supported by carbon credit sales in Vietnam.

ACEN’s total attributable renewables output showed double-digit growth, rising 21 percent to 2,052 gigawatt-hours in the first half, without the impact of the Visayas curtailment experienced in the previous year.

Renewables generation from Philippine operations increased 30 percent to 568 GWh on the back of a strong wind regime and the commissioning of the country’s largest wind farm to date—the 160-MW Pagudpud Wind Farm in Ilocos Norte and the 44-MW second phase of the Arayat-Mexico Solar Farm in Pampanga.

ACEN’s international portfolio generated 1,483 GWh, a 17 percent increase from 2022, driven by strong wind resources in Vietnam, alongside improved capacity factors in Indonesia and the ramp-up of commissioning offtake for the 521-MW first phase of New England Solar in New South Wales, Australia.

ACEN’s consolidated assets rose 4 percent to P242.7 billion, while long-term investments grew 19 percent to P130.7 billion as the company continued to scale up its renewables portfolio, with 2,700 MW currently under construction.

Total liabilities grew by 15 percent to P95.5 billion with more borrowings to fund renewables expansion during the period.

“We continue to expand our funding sources and optimize ACEN’s capital structure, while keeping track of our leverage ratios, as we aggressively pursue new investments in line with our growth aspirations,” ACEN chief financial officer Cora Dizon said.

ACEN aims to put up 20,000 MW of attributable renewables capacity by 2030.