WEAK COAL and power selling price pulled down the consolidated net income of Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) by 30% to P27.9 billion in 2023, the company said on Wednesday.
“Last year, we expected energy prices to stabilize so we focused on boosting our mine and plant outputs. Our people played a crucial role in helping us manage the challenges of a fluctuating energy market,” SMPC President and Chief Operating Officer Maria Cristina C. Gotianun said in a statement.
The company’s consolidated revenues dropped by 16% to P76.96 billion last year due to lower selling prices for coal and electricity. This decline was softened by higher coal shipments and electricity sales, according to the company.
The average selling price of Semirara coal declined by 26% to P3,796 “as index prices retreated due to an oversupply from Indonesia, a warm winter and subdued global economic growth.”
Coal sales volume increased by 7% to 15.8 million metric tons (MT) thanks to a 14% increase in exports, totaling 8.1 million MT.
On its power segment, SMPC subsidiaries SEM-Calaca Power Corp. and Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. recorded a combined electricity sales of 4,515 gigawatt-hours (GWh), higher by 26% a year earlier.
The average selling price of electricity, however, fell by 5% to P5.40 “on the combined impact of higher demand, entry of new capacity and interconnection of the Visayas and Mindanao grid.”
For the fourth quarter alone, SMPC reported a consolidated net income of P5.3 billion, up 36% due to higher coal shipments.
Coal sales volume increased by 77% in three months to December to 5.3 million MT, as exports more than tripled to 3.5 million MT.
“During the same period, [average selling price] of Semirara coal declined by 32% from P4,861 to P3,305 due to correcting market prices,” SMPC said.
Meanwhile, the company registered a 32% increase in electricity sales during the last quarter as spot sales more than doubled to 731 GWh on higher gross generation and reduced bilateral contracts.
In contrast, its prices declined by 27% to P4.29 per kilowatt-hour due to “ample supply margins” and “receding fuel costs.”
Shares of the company on Wednesday went down by two centavos or 0.48% to close at P4.18 each. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera