Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) posted a 20 percent decline in its consolidated net income last year to P9.6 billion, from P12.1 billion the prior year, due to lower contribution from one of its power generation projects and low coal prices.
Its SEM-Calaca Power Corp.’s (SCPC) gross generation was down by 54 percent to 1,519 gigawatt hours (GWH) last year from 3,281 GWH in 2018.
SMPC said the lower power generation was caused by the life extension program that was implemented for units 1 and 2 of SCPC. Unit 1 was shut down on December 2018 and was back online on September 2019, while unit 2 was shut down on October 2019 to give way for its life extension program.
Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp., the company’s other power generation segment, recorded a 51 percent increase in gross generation to 2,070 GWH in 2019 from 1,368 GWH the year before.
The power plant, which sold most of its generation to the spot market, also benefitted from higher spot prices last year.
SMPC’s income drop was cushioned by the record high production and shipments in the coal mining segment.
Coal production was up by 17 percent at 15.2 million metric tons (MT) from 12.9 million MT in 2018, due to a combination of higher capacities and good weather condition. Sales also posted a record high shipment of 15.6 million MT, surging 35 percent from the previous 11.6 million MT.
However, SMPC’s coal segment posted a 23 percent decline in core profits to P7.4 billion from P9.7 billion because of the 22 percent slump in average coal prices.
SMPC is the only vertically-integrated power producer in the country that mines its own fuel source, allowing it to generate affordable baseload power.
