Meralco on track to hit profit goal

MANILA, Philippines - Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s biggest power distributor, will likely meet its P18.5-billion profit target for the year on the back of rosy third quarter numbers.

“The numbers are good…very good,” Meralco chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said yesterday when asked about the company’s third quarter financial performance.

However, he declined to provide specific figures, saying the power firm is set to announce the final figures by the end of the month.

The P18.5-billion profit guidance is higher than the company’s P18.1 billion actual core net income last year.

Betty C. Siy-Yap, Meralco senior vice president and chief finance officer, said the third quarter numbers are looking good especially with higher volume in August.

In the first half of the year, Meralco’s reported net income amounted to P11.75 billion, up 21.9 percent from P9.64 billion in the same period a year ago. Core net income – which excludes one-time gains and losses – improved by 17.9 percent to P11.64 billion.

Revenues slightly  went up to P134.01  billion while cost and expenses declined by 0.1 percent to P117.79 billion.

In terms of volume, Meralco’s sales reached a record 17,753 gigawatt-hours (GWh), boosted by all-time high sales in June, which hit 3,441 GWh.

Commercial sales volume grew strongest in the first half, posting a four percent increase with real estate, hotels and restaurants and trade driving this growth.

Residential customers’ volume rose by three percent as per capita consumption of the mid to low customer segments was higher with record-low inflation rate of 1.2 percent at the end of June.

Total number of billed customers increased to 5.7 million at the end of the first semester, reflecting a four percent growth year on year.

Meralco’s franchise area covers Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal and parts of Batangas, Laguna, Quezon and Pampanga.