MANILA, July 28 (PNA) — The Manila Electric Company’s (Meralco’s) net income was up by 2 percent from Php 9.4 billion to Php9.6 billion, according to the company’s financial results for the 1st half of 2014.
Meralco’s net income rose to Php9.6 billion due to the increase of commercial accounts and increased consumption, Meralco said.
”Continued growth in electricity sales volume, albeit muted by cooler average temperature, higher inflation rate and sustained operational excellence and efficiency, were the key drivers which enabled Meralco to post modest gains in Consolidated Net Income, both reported and core, during the first half of 2014,” said Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan.
Pangilinan added that growth in sales revenues and net income of a number of Meralco subsidiaries also contributed to the improvement in their financial results.
Moreover, Meralco has reported a consolidated revenue of Php132.2 billion for the 1st half compared to 2013’s Php142 billion, marking a decreasing trend of 7 percent.
The distribution company has cited that the reduction was due to the Php9.3 billion lowered adjustment of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), billed by the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC) under the order of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
Also, Meralco reported reaching an all-time high of five million customers, up by 4 percent from the same period in 2013; an increase of 106,291 new customers for 2014, comprised mainly of industrial and residential consumers.
Similarly, the consolidated volume of energy, reaching 17,299 Gigawatthours (GWh) increased by 3 percent from the first half of 2013.
However, the residential volume was reported to have declined mainly due to the longer duration of cooler days, accompanied by higher inflation and the holidays in April.
Expenses worth Php118 billion was also noted to be lower than last year’s, by 9 percent; coming from the decreased cost of purchased power, which makes up 85 percent of the entire expenses.
Pangilinan also raised the incoming shortage for 2015 as the current major challenge to power supply and pricing stability in the market from a timeframe of one to two years.
On the other hand, the company’s operating and maintenance expenses had increased by 5 percent.
Meralco’s core earnings per share was also noted to be at Php8.551.
Meanwhile, Meralco’s Board of Directors had approved the declaration of a special dividend worth Php5.91 to all shareholders, noted to be recorded on August 25. (PNA)