Third-quarter net income jumped 66 percent to P2.4 billion as higher electricity prices and stronger power generation more than offset losses from its coal business.
The power segment contributed P2.6 billion in earnings, double the P1.3 billion recorded a year earlier, while coal swung to a P110-million loss amid declining shipments and higher production costs.
Power takes the lead
SMPC benefited from an 85-percent surge in average Luzon-Visayas spot electricity prices to P6.50 per kilowatt-hour, as demand outpaced available supply amid higher fuel costs and grid congestion.
The company’s average electricity selling price rose 26 percent to P5.27 per kilowatt-hour, while power sales increased 5 percent to 1,388 gigawatt-hours.
Spot market transactions accounted for 46 percent of electricity sales, giving SMPC significant exposure to higher wholesale prices, while bilateral contracts covered the remaining 54 percent.
For the first nine months, consolidated profit climbed 11 percent to P11 billion, with power contributing 78 percent of total earnings.
Coal faces twin pressures
Coal shipments fell 25 percent to 2.7 million metric tons as production declined 5 percent to 3.6 million metric tons, reflecting limited output from the Acacia mine and the near-depletion of the Narra mine.
The slowdown comes as SMPC faces uncertainty over its coal operating contract on Semirara Island in Antique, which expires in July 2027, with the Department of Energy preparing a new competitive bidding process.
—Edited by Miguel R. Camus
