First Gen net income up by 51% in 2018

Lopez-led First Gen Corporation (FGEN) saw its net income rise by 51 percent in 2018, driven by the strong contribution from its natural gas business.

The company's recurring net income to equity holders climbed to $243 million from the $161 million in 2017, it said in a regulatory filing submitted by FGEN Vice President and Corporate Secretary Rachel Hernandez.

This was "mainly from the strong contribution of the Company’s natural gas business that delivered recurring earnings of $186 million (P9.7
billion) versus $120 million (6.0 billion) previously," the disclosure read.

Likewise, FGEN's attributable net income grew 65 percent to $221 million, while consolidated revenues grew 16 percent to P17.8 billion.

"2018 was an exceptional year for First Gen as we concretized value from the sizable investment made for the modern 420 MW San Gabriel natural gas-fired power plant," said FGEN President and COO Francis Giles Puno.

"Our geothermal platform, through EDC, likewise made a remarkable recovery in the second half of 2018 with the faster-than-expected recovery of its Unified Leyte plants from the outage caused by natural calamities in 2017, coupled with higher sales volume and more attractive selling prices. We expect EDC to continue to outperform this year," he added. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/KG, GMA News