Semirara hikes 2023 capex budget

By Alena Mae S. Flores – March 6, 2023, 7:10 pm
from manilastandard.net

Integrated energy company Semirara Mining and Power Corp. is looking at a capital expenditure budget of P6.1 billion this year, up 42 percent from P4.3 billion last year.

“2023 planned capex mainly for sustaining activities, e.g. replacement and additional heavy equipment to improve cost efficiency and boost material handling capacity,” the company said in an analyst report.

Bulk of the capex budget this year will be spent on coal operations at P4.1 billion, up 64 percent from P2.5 billion spent in 2022, it said.

The capex for SMPC subsidiaries SEM-Calaca Power Corp. and Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. would be P1.3 billion and P700 million, respectively.

SCPC owns and operates the 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Calaca, Batangas, while SLPGC owns the 300-MW coal plant within the Calaca facility.

SMPC’s consolidated net income soared to P39.9 billion last year, up 146 percent from the previous all-time high of P16.2 billion in 2021.

Robust domestic coal shipments and higher spot electricity sales, along with elevated market prices, accounted for the record-breaking results.

Domestic coal sales jumped by 33 percent to  7.7 million metric tons  from 5.8 million MT, while exports slumped 24 percent to 7.1 million MT from 9.4 million MT.

“Last year, we focused on the Philippine, South Korean, and other ASEAN markets to lessen our dependency on China, which had been importing heavily discounted Russian coal,” said SMPC president and chief operating officer Maria Cristina Gotianun.

“Diversifying our market focus allowed us to get the best price for our inventory,” she said.