Semirara sets aside P5.6B for capital spending plan
BY LENIE LECTURA – DECEMBER 6, 2022
from Business Mirror
Consunji-led Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) is allocating P5.6 billion for next year’s capital expenditure (capex) program.
Of the total amount, P4.1 billion will go to the mining equipment refleeting of its coal segment while P1.5 billion will be used for the planned maintenance activities of its power subsidiaries, SEM-Calaca Power Corp. (SCPC) and Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. (SLPGC).
SCPC owns and operates the 600-megawatt (MW) coal plant while SLPGC owns the 300MW coal plant. Both are located in Calaca, Batangas.
The capex for 2023 is 8 percent higher than the P5.2 billion earmarked for this year.
As of the third quarter, SMPC has spent P3.6 billion of its 2022 capex. Around P2.2 billion went to the acquisition of mining and support equipment. The remaining P1.4 billion was used to repair and replace plant components of SCPC and SLPGC. “We expect stable demand for coal and electricity next year so we’re continually investing in our production and generation capacities,” said SMPC President and COO Maria Cristina C. Gotianun.
SMPC has set a coal production target of 14.5 million metric tons (MMT) for 2023, roughly the same as its target of 14.5 MMT to 15 MMT for this year. In January to September, SMPC coal production reached 13.7 MMT.
The company posted a 250-percent increase in net income to P36 billion at end-September this year versus P10.3 billion in the same period a year ago. Of the amount, P10.2 billion was registered in the third quarter.
From January to September, average selling prices of Semirara coal shot up to P5,224/MT due to the surge in global index prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In February, SMPC reported that it posted its highest-ever net income last year. It ended 2021 with a net income of P16.2 billion, a 393-percent leap from the previous year’s P3.3 billion, mainly due to an 8-percent rise in coal production, 16-percent jump in coal shipments and 71-percent surge in average coal selling prices.
Contributions from the coal segment grew by 535 percent to P11.4 billion from P1.8 billion while its power subsidiaries delivered improved performances.
SCPC contributed P3.3 billion in 2021, a 154-percent upturn from P1.3 billion the previous year. Meanwhile, SLPGC recorded a 1,563-percent rise in contributions to P1.4 billion from P87 million.
