SEMIRARA Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) reported a 31 percent decline in net income in the first nine months of the year to P15.71 billion from P22.62 billion in the same period last year.
SMPC in a statement on Wednesday said the drop was mainly due to softer selling prices and higher total cash and non-cash costs.
In a separate disclosure at the Philippine Stock Exchange, the company reported an 11.6- percent decrease in revenues in the first nine months of the year to P49.67 billion from P56.2 billion in 2023.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, SMPC’s net income is an 8 percent decline to P3.1 billion from 2023’s P3.4 billion.
“As anticipated, stabilizing market prices exerted pressure on our margins. Our third-quarter results also reflect the seasonal impact of the rainy season on coal shipments and electricity prices, both of which we were able to partially offset through focused cost management and operational efficiency initiatives,” said Maria Cristina Gotianun, SMPC president and chief operating officer.
The company said from July to September 2024, average Newcastle Index of coal dipped by 5 percent from $147.8 to $140.3 while the Indonesian Coal Index 4 remained virtually flat from $52.0 to $51.7.
“For the remainder of the year, we expect coal and electricity prices to remain stable. Our focus is on meeting our coal production target of 16 million metric tons (MT) and achieving a balance in our contracted generation capacity mix,” Gotianun said.
For the third quarter of the year, SMPC’s total coal shipments grew 16 percent from 2.5 million (MT) to 2.9 million MT on stronger export demand as foreign shipments surged by 120 percent from 0.5 MT to 1.1 million MT mainly because of higher sales to China.
