Semirara Mining sets 2025 capex at P6.9B

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Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) is preparing to spend as much as P6.9 billion for capital expenditure (capex) this year.

The company said in a statement over the weekend the amount is 5 percent higher compared with last year’s capex, which was projected to be at P6.6 billion as of end-September 2024.

SMPC said that for this year, bulk of the capex or P5.8 billion is for the coal segment, particularly for re-fleeting initiatives and additional acquisition of mining and support equipment.

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The company’s funding allocation for its coal business this year is a 23- percent increase from 2024’s P4.7 billion, the statement said.

The remainder of SMPC’s capex for this year is intended to fund maintenance activities and initiatives to enhance fuel and feed systems of its power projects.

SMPC said Sem-Calaca Power Corp. (SCPC) has a P700 million allocation this year, 50 percent lower than 2024’s P1.4 billion, while Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. (SLPGC) has a reserved funding of P400 million for 2025, a 20 percent decline from last year’s P500 million.

SCPC operates a 2×300 megawatts (MW) power project while SLPGC has a 2×150 MW facility. Both companies operate coal-fired power projects that are based in Batangas.

 SMPC earlier announced its foreign and domestic coal shipments rose to a record 16.5 million metric tons (MT) in 2024.

The company’s total shipment increased 4.4 percent last year from 15.8 million MT in 2023—the company’s previous record high for the commodity.

Coal exports to China surged 46 percent to 7.6 million MT from 5.2 million MT in the same comparable period.

The miner’s overall foreign shipments increased 4 percent year-on-year to 8.4 million MT from 8.1 million MT.

SMPC’s financial statement for 2024 is not yet available.

It said in a previous report, however, net income totaled P15.71 billion in January to September, down 31 percent from P22.62 billion a year earlier, due to softer coal prices and higher cash and non-cash costs.

In the third quarter of 2024, the average Newcastle Index dipped 5 percent to $140.3 per MT from $147.8, while the Indonesian Coal Index (ICI4) was nearly unchanged at $51.7 per MT from $52.0.

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