The strengthening of the peso took its toll on Salcon Power Corp.’s earnings in the first six months of year.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the company said its profits for the first half of 2007 declined 40 percent to P181.2 million from P301.6 million in the same period in 2006.
Salcon Power said its dollar-denominated revenues and financial assets were affected by the peso appreciation during the period under review.
About 60 percent of the power firm’s revenues comes from the rehabilitation, operation, maintenance and management (ROMM) agreement it entered into with the National Power Corp. (Napocor) for the 203.8 megawatt (MW) Naga power plant complex in Cebu.
The company said other income also substantially dropped to P56.4 million from P183.0 million due mainly to an earlier settlement agreement with Napocor with respect to long outstanding claims and counterclaims.
For the six-month period, Salcon Power’s consolidated revenues were down 4.7 percent to P676.5 million from P709.5 million last year.
It said its subsidiaries Bohol Light Co., Inc. (BLCI) and Salcon Island Power Corp. (SIPC) contributed revenues amounting to P202.0 million or 29.9 percent of total revenues as against P190.6 million or 26.9 percent of total revenues for the same period in 2006.
BLCI is a distribution utility providing services in Tagbilaran City, Bohol. SIPC, on the other hand, operates the Olango diesel power plant which supplies all the generated electricity to Mactan Electric Company, Inc. (MECO) in Cebu.
Total consolidated assets of the company stood at P3.45 billion at end-June 2007, up 4.2 percent from the end-2006 level of P3.32 billion.
The company said it is currently negotiating with Kepco Philippines for supply agreements with distribution utilities and electric cooperatives, which would allow them to proceed with a planned 200-MW coal thermal power plant in Cebu.
Both parties are targeting to start the construction of the $400 million plant by September and expects to complete it by 2010.