Owing to higher electricity sales and the uptick in oil prices, Yuchengco-led PetroEnergy Resources Corporation (PERC) has posted 31-percent income jump to P506 million in the first half this 2022 from leaner P386 million in the same period last year.

“The robust financial performance was largely due to the increase in global crude oil prices --from average $64.63 per barrel to average $111.26 per barrel - and higher offtake sales for PetroSolar Corporation’s (PSC) Tarlac-2 solar power plant,” the company expounded.

The jump in earnings, according to PERC, subsequently increased by 51-percent the level of profit attributable to the equity holders of the company; hence, there had been better financial return to the firm’s shareholders.

Essentially, the escalation in income warranted the company to declare 5.0-percent cash dividend, which is equivalent of P0.05 per share to be paid to all stockholders of record as of August 15 this year.

“PERC derives the bulk of its revenues from electricity sales from renewable energy (RE) power plants by operating units of its RE holding firm PetroGreen Energy Corporation,” the Yuchengco firm stressed.

It qualified that its income-drivers include the 32MW Maibarara geothermal project by Maibarara Geothermal, Inc.; the 70MW Tarlac solar project by PSC; and the 36 MW Nabas-1 wind project by PetroWind Energy Inc.

Additionally, PERC emphasized that “oil revenues from its minority stake in the Etame oil concession in offshore Gabon, West Africa provide the balance of steady revenues for the company.”

Onward, the Yuchengco firm is eyeing to expand its renewable energy investments for geothermal, solar and wind farm installations in its project sites in Batangas, Palawan and Aklan; while also exploring longer-term investment plan for offshore wind farm developments.

The company, nevertheless, stated that the gestation period for that venture will take longer of five years or more; and they would likewise tap foreign investor-partners not just to beef up capital infusion but to also reinforce their technical know-how on that energy technology deployment.

In the targeted project portfolio of the PetroEnergy group will be 4,000MW of offshore wind facilities to be sited across Luzon and Visayas grids– and at current rule-of-thumb development cost of $3.0 million to $4.0 million per megawatt – these may command aggregate capital outlay of $12 billion to $16 billion.