Semirara Mining and Power Corp. said Monday its board approved the issuance of special cash dividend amounting to a record P14.88 billion.
This is equivalent to P3.50 per outstanding common share for shareholders on record as of Oct. 31, the company said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.
“This is 100 percent more than the P1.75 special cash dividends declared last year and the highest dividend ever declared by SCC,” the company said.
It said the dividends would be paid on Nov. 15.
The company issued the special dividend on the back of a 311-percent increase in first-half net income to P25.8 billion from P6.3 billion it earned a year ago on higher coal prices.
It is the company’s highest net income for any given semester, driven by all-time high coal selling prices and increased spot electricity sales volume at elevated prices.
The company also paid P1.50 per share in regular cash dividends in April for income generated in 2021.
“With the additional special cash dividend, the total dividend payout of SCC to its shareholders for 2022 will be P5.00 per share, the highest in its corporate history,” SMPC said.
This translates to a total dividend payout of P21.3 billion for 2022.
SMPC said contributions from coal and SEM-Calaca Power Corp. soared 364 percent and 299 percent, respectively, while that of Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. rose 7 percent in the first half.
About 85 percent of the group’s net income came from coal, followed by SCPC at 11 percent and SLPGC at 4 percent.
SCPC and SLPGC generated baseload power for the Luzon-Visayas grid. Both supply electricity through bilateral contract quantity and the wholesale electricity spot market.