Energy Development Corp., the country’s largest geothermal and wind energy company, said it is allocating P8 billion for capital expenditures this year, slightly lower than in 2016.
EDC budgeted P8.2 billion for its 2016 capex, a source said over the weekend.
The source said this year’s budget would be used “mainly for Tongonan rehab and recurring capex.”
EDC owns the 112.5-megawatt Tongonan geothermal power plant in Leyte. The geothermal plant rehabilitation is now in its second and third phases with the entire works expected to be completed this year.
EDC tapped Siemens for the control systems integration and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems for turbine-generator of the Tongonan power plant.
“For this year, EDC will continue with its asset reliability program as it targets to finish the retrofit of the Tongonan power plant and the refurbishment of other generating units in Leyte,” EDC chief financial officer Nestor Vasay said earlier.
The company posted a net income of P9.72 billon last year, up 23.66 percent from P7.86 billion in 2015.
EDC’s core net income also went up 4 percent to P9.16 billion in 2016 from P8.8 billion in 2015, on improved performance and lower operating expenses of Negros Island and First Gen Hydro business units.
Revenues reached P34.2 billion last year.
“The Bacman and Nasulo geothermal plants were amongst the most exposed to last year’s record-low electricity spot market prices. A reported 25 percent average drop in prices for these plants resulted in a revenue loss of over P1.4 billion full-year,” Vasay said.
Vasay said EDC had “moved quickly to address and manage the downside from potentially low spot market prices.”
EDC lined up supply contracts that would cover 100 percent of Bacman’s capacity and almost 80 percent of Nasulo.
The company’s 150 megawatt Burgos wind farm, the largest in the country, continued to build on its 2015 performance.
Revenues from the Burgos wind project in Ilocos Norte increased by almost P400 million as annual wind energy generation increased 60 gigawatt-hours to 320 gWh from 260 gWh in 2015.
EDC’s hydro unit also posted a 21-percent increase in annual revenues, primarily driven by higher sales volume.
Mindanao and Palinpinon geothermal power plants also recorded revenue increases from a combination of higher sales volume and average contract price.
“As we had been telling our investors, our focus for the past years has been embarking on initiatives to deliver financial predictability”•some benefits of which we expect to see starting this year,” EDC said.