ACEN net income down 43% to P7.4 billion

AYALA-LED ACEN Corp. on Tuesday said it saw a 43% decrease in its 2023 net income to P7.4 billion from P13.1 billion the previous year.

The listed energy company’s net income “includes P8.6 billion in accounting adjustments from various events in that period,” it said in a statement.

Statutory revenues grew by 4% to P36.5 billion, while attributable earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization rose by 31% to P18.8 billion in 2023.

“Taking out the impact of all noncash items, ACEN’s profitability increased 150% year over year, driven by a nearly three-fold increase in core operating earnings,” the company said. 

Operating income climbed by 81% to P8.1 billion, while core operating earnings tripled to P4.9 billion with ” the continued ramp-up of new renewables capacity and generation output.”

The company recorded P4.5 billion in gains last year, which was offset by a P2-billion impairment from the partial sale of Salak & Darajat geothermal power assets in the third quarter due to the impact of costs overruns and project delays.

”All together, this resulted in a consolidated net income after tax for ACEN of P7.4 billion in 2023,” the company said.

For the fourth quarter alone, operating income rose by 38% to P1.9 billion, and the company also recovered P1 billion in its core operating earnings from a loss in 2022.

The company’s renewable energy generation from Philippine operations climbed by 34% to 1,137 gigawatt-hours (GWh) driven by stronger wind resources at its wind farms.

This was also attributed to the start of commissioning for the 160-megawatt (MW) Pagudpud wind farm, the first and second phases of the SanMar solar farm totaling 385 MW, and the 44-MW second phase of the Arayat-Mexico solar farm.

Outside the Philippines, the company delivered 3,328 GWh in attributable generation, up 31% a year ago.

This covers the ongoing partial commissioning for the 420-MW Masaya solar farm in India and near-full capacity and operational completion for the 521 MW New England solar project.

“We look forward to 2024 with full commercial operations of newly commissioned plants, a continually growing pipeline, and in turn, continued progress toward our aspiration to achieve 20 GW in attributable renewables capacity by 2030,” ACEN President and Chief Executive Officer Eric T. Francia said.

In a separate statement, ACEN said that its subsidiary ACEN Australia forged a power purchase agreement with London-based SmartestEnergy to offtake renewable electricity generated from State 1 of its New England solar project in New South Wales.

The eight-year deal provides SmartestEnergy with an offtake of 25% of the output of the 400-MW Stage 1 project.

To date, ACEN has around 4,700 MW of attributable capacity spread across the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Australia.

At the local bourse on Tuesday, shares in the company went down by P0.15 or 3.7% to close at P3.90 each. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera