Vivant profit surges over 5-fold in 9 months

MANILA, Philippines - Listed power firm Vivant Corp. of the Cebu-based Garcia family reported a more than five-fold surge in its nine-month profit on the back of higher energy sales and significantly lower finance costs.

Based on financial statements submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission, revenues amounted to P2.87 billion or more than twice the P1.2 billion recorded a year ago.

Operating expenses rose at a slower pace to P1.08 billion from P944.66 million a year ago while finance costs declined to P19.9 million from P141.24 million.

In the third quarter alone, Vivant’s net earnings more than doubled to P372.66 million as revenues expanded by 80 percent to P899.67 million.

Of the total revenues, P557.57 million came from energy fees, P299.29 million from equity in net earnings of subsidiaries and associates, P29.95 million from tendering of services, and P12.85 million from interest and other income.

“The increase in revenues is accounted mostly by the significant increase in energy fees of a subsidiary resulting both from an increase in energy output and favorable prices,” Vivant said.

Operating expenses grew 31 percent to P387.49 million from P296.25 million owing to higher generation costs, salaries and employee benefits.

Vivant, which was incorporated as an ice cream manufacturer in 1991, owns 35 percent of Palawan-based power producer Delta P, Inc., 40 percent of Cebu Private Power Corp. and 40 percent of Abovant Holdings Inc. that owns 44 percent of Cebu Energy Development Corp. (CEDC).

CEDC is a joint venture with Metrobank’s Global Business Power Corp. and Formosa Heavy Industries of Taiwan.

Vivant is also part-owner of power distributor Visayan Electric Co., Inc. (VECO), along with Aboitiz Power Corp.

VECO covers a franchise area of 674 square kilometers servicing 327,587 customers in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Talisay as well as five municipalities, all in the province of Cebu.

Subsidiary Vivant-Malogo Hydropower Inc. earlier said it would spend more than P1 billion for the Malogo river hydroelectric power project in Silay, Negros Occidental.

The first of three phases of the project will have a total output of six megawatts and is expected to be commissioned in the last quarter of 2015.