ACEN income rises 22% to P5B on strong power demand

AC Energy Corp. (ACEN) reported a consolidated attributable net income of P5.25 billion in 2021, higher by 22% than the P4.29 billion recorded a year earlier, due to stronger power demand.

In its financial report filed to the exchange on Wednesday, the Ayala group’s listed energy arm said revenues last year went up by 27% to P26.08 billion from P20.49 billion in 2020, driven by stronger generation output.

“As the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific region recover from the pandemic’s peak, the energy sector continues to experience strong demand for power. ACEN’s robust 2021 financial and operating results reflect our ability to benefit from this,” ACEN President and Chief Executive Officer Eric T. Francia said in a separate statement to the exchange.

The renewable energy (RE) company said its attributable output grew 21% to 4,633 gigawatt-hours (GWh) from 3,818 GWh in 2020 on the back of the 23% climb in generation from RE sources. International output rose 24%, while generation from Philippine assets jumped 20%.

Mr. Francia added that ACEN’s eye is set on “aggressively expanding” its RE portfolio so it can be prepared to address power woes in the county and in other regional markets “in an environmentally sound and socially responsible way.”

This year, the company has earmarked around P55.5 billion for capital expenditure (capex) investments, 68% more than last year’s budget. A huge chunk of the fund will be sourced from ACEN Finance Ltd.’s recent $400-million fixed-for-life perpetual green bond offering.

The capex budget will be used to develop new capacity in the county amid the power supply issues, while a portion will be allotted to the construction of its 521-megawatt (MW) New England solar farm in Australia and 420-MW Masaya solar farm in India.

At home, the company is building around 484 MW of wind and solar capacity. Across the region, as of November 2021, ACEN has around 3,800 MW of attributable net capacity, of which, renewable energy accounted for a share of 87% or 3,300 MW.

ACEN shares at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday inched up 15 centavos or 1.96% to close at P7.79 apiece. — Marielle C. Lucenio