First Gen Corp. of the Lopez Group on Wednesday reported a 9-percent decline in attributable recurring net income to $81 million (P4.5 billion) in the first quarter of 2024 from $89 million (P4.9 billion) from a year ago.
“As we expected, First Gen started the year slow with the expiration of San Gabriel’s contract with Meralco. Prices in the market were also generally lower with adequate supply available in 1Q24,” First Gen president and chief operating officer Francis Giles Puno said.
“This was cushioned by our takeover of Casecnan last February. San Gabriel likewise went on a major maintenance outage as soon as its contract with Meralco expired in order to be ready for the current extreme weather condition that’s amplifying the need for more power. San Gabriel is currently supplying crucial capacity to the grid after coming back online on April 6,” Puno said.
First Gen’s geothermal arm Energy Development Corp.’s (EDC) produced lower recurring net income versus the same period last year mainly from the combined decline of its revenues due to lower power prices and an increase in its operating expenses.
First Natgas Power Corp., the owner of the 420-megawatt San Gabriel natural gas-fired power plant suffered from a drop in revenues as its power supply agreement with Meralco expired last February.
The company generated $596 million (P33.3 billion) in revenues in the first quarter, down 9 percent to $56 million (P2.6 billion) from $652 million (P36 billion) as a result of lower volumes of electricity sold across all platforms except for hydro due to the addition of the 165-MW Casecnan Power Plant (Casecnan) to the First Gen portfolio.
The natural gas portfolio accounted for 65 percent of First Gen’s total consolidated revenues, while 31 percent came from EDC’s geothermal, wind and solar plants. The balance came from the hydro plants and First Gen Energy Solutions, its retail electricity supplier.