EDC recurring net 9-month income down 3.0% to P6.4 B

By Myrna M. Velasco – November 12, 2018, 10:00 PM
from Manila Bulletin

The consolidated recurring net income of Energy Development Corporation (EDC) had been down 3.0-percent to P6.4 billion within this year’s January to September stretch from last year’s P6.6 billion.

The company’s profitability slightly skidded despite the 13-percent hike on consolidated revenues for the period, which reached as high as P27.7 billion.

The Lopez majority-owned firm qualified that its financial position “remained strong with cash balance of P19.3 billion,” and had a comfortable gearing level with consolidated debt-to-equity of 0.98x and consolidated net to earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 2.46x.

The firm looks forward to improved financial outcome in the remaining months of the year as its generating units previously pummeled by calamities had already been getting back to their operational efficiencies.

EDC Chief Financial Officer Nestor H. Vasay primarily indicated that the company’s Unified Leyte plants “had fully recovered from the impact of typhoon Urduja, with generation volume pretty much catching up with what we had posted during the same period in 2017.”

He stressed that volume of generation for the rest of their power fleets had likewise been on upturn, primarily for Bacon-Manito, Tongonan and Palinpinon plants – with all of them posting volume growth within the 15-percent range.

Further, EDC’s Burgos wind plant logged significant jump of 21-percent in generation volume, prompting Vasay then to assert that such will keep them on track “to potentially surpassing record performance last year.”

Beyond its operations, this year is considered a turning point for the company as its board and management cemented decision on its delisting from the Philippine Stock Exchange.

In the three quarters that passed, Vasay noted that the company forked out P3.8 billion in additional operating expenses (OPEX), and that had been propelled mainly by requisite plant maintenance and well work-over activities.

From hereon, Vasay said “we expect our OPEX to go down, as we had implemented a number of operational and other efficiency initiatives across the company.”

Relative to its exit from the local bourse, the firm first completed its tender offer that had given its outstanding shareholders a premium price offer of P7.25 per share.