PetroEnergy income up 30% to P544 M

By Myrna M. Velasco – November 16, 2021, 5:30 PM
from Manila Bulletin

Yuchengco-led PetroEnergy Resources Corporation (PERC) said its nine-month net income increased by 30 percent to P544 million from P417 million in the same period last year.

From that scale of profitability, the energy firm’s net income went up by a significant 60 percent to P323 million from the year-ago level of P203 million.

“Driving the significant increase in profits were the rise in crude oil prices over the same period from US$43.22 per barrel to $72.86 per barrel and higher electricity sales from Tarlac solar and Nabas wind power plants,” PERC said.

For the third quarter alone, the Yuchengco company qualified that earnings had jumped 38 percent to P158 million from last year’s P115 million within the same period.

The strong showing within July to September this year, according to the company, yielded net income attributable to PERC equity holders that had been higher by 115-percent to P89 million from P41 million in 2020.

The upstream petroleum business of the company is in Gabon, West Africa; while the power generation portfolio – that are mostly renewable energy (RE) technologies –are in the Philippines, primarily in the Luzon and Visayas grids.

Its electric generating facilities include the 32-megawatt Maibarara geothermal project in Batangas; the 70MW solar farm installation in Tarlac and the 36MW Nabas wind farm development in Aklan.

For the wind facility in Aklan, in particular, PERC previously indicated that its capacity will be expanded by additional 14MW; and that has been in keeping with the original plan to build up its aggregate capacity to 50MW.

The first phase of the Nabas wind farm power project, which entailed P4.6 billion investment, was completed and had kicked off commercial operation in 2015 and was included in the second wave of feed-in-tariff (FIT) incentive scheme for qualified RE installations.

The other investment space where PERC has been pursuing capacity expansion is in the installation of hybrid systems at off-grid areas, primarily its blueprinted 10 to 20MW power generation system in Palawan.

That proposed facility will command P1.1 billion to P1.3 billion worth of capital spending; and upon completion, it will solve the power supply woes of that island-province which has vast tourism draw potential.