First Gen Corp. of the Lopez Group registered a recurring net income of $60 million in the first quarter, up 34 percent from $45 million year-on-year.
First Gen’s attributable net income in the first quarter reached $40 million, down 4 percent from 2017.
First Gen chief finance officer Emmanuel Singson, meanwhile, said it was forecasting a higher full year net income reaching “a little below $200 million” this year.
“Recurring net income I think for last year we ended at about $160 million. Hopefully, we do a little below $200 million for this year if EDC has a flat recurring net income as well. Because as you can see we already performed better in the first quarter by $50 million,” Singson said.
The company reported a recurring net income attributable to equity holders of the parent at $163 million in 2017 due to the impact of calamities on hydro and geothermal facilities and weak spot market prices.
Singson said the company was looking at full year capital expenditure of $35 million, including $20 million to be spent for a planned liquefied natural gas facility and $15 million for the San Gabriel natural gas plant.
First Gen said in a disclosure on Wednesday the sold performance of the 97-megawatt Avion peaking plant (Avion) and the 420-MW San Gabriel flex plant (San Gabriel), as well as savings in interest expense, partly offset unrealized foreign exchange losses and Energy Development Corp.’s weak performance in the first quarter.
“Even if San Gabriel is currently fully merchant and awaiting the regulatory approval for the power supply contract with Meralco (Manila Electric Co.), we still posted a strong turnaround with higher spot market prices in the first quarter of 2018,” First Gen President and chief operating officer Francis Giles Puno said.
First Gen’s consolidated revenues from the sale of electricity increased to $457 million from $429 million in the same period last year.
The natural gas portfolio accounted for $293 million or 64 percent of First Gen’s total consolidated revenues.