Meralco net income soars as revenues surge in Q1

BY LENIE LECTURA – APRIL 25, 2023
from Business Mirror

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) reported that its net income in the first quarter went up by 40 percent to P8.1 billion, from P6.4 billion in the same period a year ago, as revenues surged to P105.6 billion.

Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the utility firm’s operational and financial performance in the first three months of the year indicate that the utility firm is “off to a good start.”

“2023 is looking quite good so we should be able to report double-digit growth for profitability,” said Pangilinan during a press briefing on Monday.  Meralco’s consolidated core net income (CCNI) rose by 40 percent to P9 billion in January to March from P6.4 billion in the same quarter in 2022, on the back of the significant increase in the CCNI contribution of power generation, which grew three times versus the same period last year.

Consolidated revenues increased by 23 percent mainly due to higher pass-through charges.

Meralco said it spent P5.1 billion for capital expenditures, of which P4.5 billion went to networks projects consisting of new connections, asset renewals, and load growth projects, among others.

Operating expenses increased to P9.5 billion driven by higher bills, management-related expenses, information technology licenses and maintenance, and higher manpower and cybersecurity costs of subsidiaries with increasing digitalization and work accomplishments for the construction unit.

As demand for power picks up, the utility firm’s energy sales volumes in the first quarter rose to 11,287 gigawatt hours (GW) from 11,069 GWh, as volumes of Meralco and Clark Electric Distribution Corp. (Clark Electric) went up by 2 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

Meralco’s sales mix continues to shift towards pre-pandemic levels with the continued recovery of business operations and resumption of social activities. The share of the commercial segment expanded to 37 percent while residential was down to 33 percent. Industrial segment’s share also fell to 30 percent.

“The growth in our energy sales volume, particularly the strong performance of the commercial segment, signifies that public confidence has returned and demand for power will certainly continue to increase. With this, we will pursue strategic energy sourcing activities for our medium- and long-term requirements,” Meralco President and CEO Ray C. Espinosa said.

Meralco ended the first quarter with a consolidated customer count of 7.7 million.