Owing it to the overall downtrend in demand last year, the core net income of listed firm Aboitiz Power Corporation dropped 27-percent last year to P12.6 billion from a relatively flourishing bottom line of P17.3 billion in 2019.
The company stated that it booked leaner non-recurring net gains of P45 million last year vis-à-vis the heftier non-recurring net gains of P702 million in 2019, “mainly due to net foreign exchange gains on the revaluation of dollar-denominated liabilities.”
Aboitiz Power emphasized that “without the one-off gains, the company’s core net income for 2020 was P12.5 billion,” which was lower by 25-percent compared to P16.6 billion the prior year.
In last year’s fourth quarter, the company’s earnings had already been on recovery mode with it rising by 44-percent to P5.6 billion as against the P3.9 billion logged in the same period in 2019.
Aboitiz Power said it recognized non-recurring net losses of P483 million within October-December period last year; which was a reverse of the P922 million non-recurring net gains posted in the same quarter the year before; and that had been due to “the recognition of business insurance claims, better availability of coal facilities, as well as higher water inflow of the company’s hydro facility in Isabela.”
On the power generation segment of the company’s business, the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) had been 4.0 percent higher to P37.7 billion last year vis-à-vis P36.2 billion in 2019.
The variance, the power firm said, had been primarily attributed to “better availability of our coal facilities and the recognition of business insurance claims,” which somehow “offset the lower demand due to the Covid-related community quarantines and lower water inflows to our hydro facilities.”
The other factors that pulled down the firm’s profitability last year include additional tax expenses because of the expiration of income tax holiday (ITH) incentives for its power facilities, mainly those of Therma South Inc., and GNPower Mariveles Energy Center Ltd. Co. plants; as well as additional interest expenses from the firm’s bonds and loans that were availed of between the latter part of 2019 until the second half of 2020.
The aggregate capacity sold from the firm’s power generating facilities somehow climbed by 7.0-percent to 3,417 megawatts from 3,184MW in 2019; and that was mainly traced to the increased contracting capacity yielded by its new Therma Visayas Inc. facility in Cebu.
For the distribution segment, Aboitiz Power noted that EBITDA had been 12-percent lower to P7.2 billion as against a more robust outcome of P8.2 billion in the prior year. Sales had likewise been down by 8.0-percent to 5,368 gigawatt-hours in 2020 from 5,851 GWh the previous year, “due to lower consumption which resulted from the enforcement of Covid-related community quarantines.”
As narrated by Aboitiz Power President and CEO Emmanuel V. Rubio, “2020 was a tough year for all of us and Aboitiz Power had its share of challenges. But despite the setbacks, we strengthened our organization and improved operational performance.”
He nevertheless indicated that 2021 is thriving as a recovery year for the country and this may also turn in as a parallel upswing year for the company’s operations.
“We roll out our 10-year growth strategy that fully supports our country’s economic recovery and sustainability goals. We will continue to build on our organizational capabilities to achieve our operational targets, and ultimately, benefit our customers, our communities and our country,” he stressed.