First Gen posts 38% jump in nine-month net income

High earnings contribution from natural gas power plants and geothermal plants helped First Gen Corp. grow net income attributable to the parent company by 37.7 percent to $162.8 million in the first nine months from $118.2 million a year earlier, the company disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday.

 

Consolidated revenues went up by 0.5 percent to $1,426 million from $1,419.2 million in the same comparable period.

 

The company said lower water levels caused a decline in earnings contributions of First Gen Hydro Power Corp. It partially offset the high earnings contribution from Santa Rita and San Lorenzo natural gas power plants or the First Gas Plants and Energy Development Corp.'s (EDC) geothermal plants.

 

First Gas Plants contributed $88.6 million to the net income in first nine months, higher by 34 percent from $66.1 million.

 

EDC, on the other hand, contributed $112.4 million in attributable earnings, 97.19 percent higher than $57 million recorded a year earlier.

 

First Gen president Francis Giles B. Puno said there were significant positive developments despite setbacks like Typhoon Glenda.

 

It recently started full commercial operations of the 150-megawatt Burgos wind farm and the 49-MW Nasulo plant that turned commercial in July. Its BacMan plant is back online with the installation of a new turbine rotor for Unit 2 while Unit 1 is expected to be completed in January next year.

 

"We expect these projects to contribute a full year's worth of revenues in 2015," he noted.

 

The company expects additional capacities with the construction of the 97-MW Avion and the 414-MW San Gabriel natural gas projects which will start contributing to First Gen income by early next year and 2016, respectively. – Kathryn Mae P. Tubadeza/VS, GMA News