Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) recorded a 40 percent increase in its core net income in the first three months of the year to P9 billion from P6.4 billion in the same period in 2022.
Revenues jumped 23 percent to P105.64 billion from P85.9 billion.
Meralco attributed the growth to increased contribution of the commercial sector.
Consolidated energy sales rose 2 percent to 11,287 gigawatt hours (GWh) from 11,069 GWh on sustained growth of the commercial segment as economic activities stabilized to pre-pandemic levels.
“The growth in our energy sales volume, particularly the strong performance of the commercial segment, signifies that public confidence has returned and demand for power will certainly continue to increase. With this, we will pursue strategic energy sourcing activities for our medium- and long-term requirements as we work to secure supply to ensure sufficient and cost-competitive power for our customers,” said Ray Espinosa, Meralco president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
Meralco’s commercial sector sales which represent 37 percent of the total energy sales volume went up 11 percent but residential sales which represent 33 percent went down 3 percent.
Industrial sales with a share of 30 percent also decreased by 3 percent because of the weak performance of the semiconductors and cement businesses.
Meralco’s customer count for the period reached 7.67 million, a 3 percent increase from last year’s 7.46 million with peak demand hitting 7,725 megawatts (MW), down by 3 percent from the previous 7,816 MW. -Jed Macapagal
