Lopez firm EDC posts P3.8B in 1st qtr net income

Lopez-owned Energy Development Corp. (EDC), a leading producer of geothermal energy, said its net income increased by 68 percent to P3.80 billion in the first three months of the year from P2.27 billion in the same period in 2009. Its earnings before income tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) also improved by 82 percent to P4.94 billion. EDC said improved revenues from its two subsidiaries – Green Core Geothermal Inc. (GCGI), operator of the 192.5-MW Palinpinon and the 112.5-MW Tongonan I geothermal power plants, and First Gen Hydro Power Corp. which operates the Pantabangan and Masiway hydroelectric plants, were the main drivers of the significant advances in net income and EBITDA in the first quarter, contributing P1.22 billion. The company’s core net income also soared to P3.2 billion, up by 103 percent from P1.6 billion. The marked improvement was driven by higher electricity sales from GCGI geothermal and Pantabangan-Masiway hydroelectric plants. "We're off to a good start in 2010 given the performance of our subsidiary corporations. Knowing the pulse of our customers worked to our advantage. We are sensitive to their preference for clean, reliable, sustainable and affordable energy sources," EDC president and COO Richard Tantoco said. Tantoco said “the pricing of the indigenous renewable energy resource that we offer our customers is independent of any indexation to movements in global energy indices. This was validated by the long-term contracts that we have already secured for the Palinpinon and Tongonan geothermal power plants." This year, EDC is adding the 150-MW Bacon-Manito (BacMan) geothermal plant in Sorsogon to its portfolio of assets. It submitted the highest bid in the recently concluded auction for the government’s assets. “We are programming the rehabilitation of the BacMan power plants and bringing them back to their full capacity within 18 to 24 months. With our acquisition of the BacMan plants, our steamfield and power plant operations will be fully integrated in all our project sites. This will make our operations more efficient and our electricity production competitively priced,’’ Tantoco said.—VS, GMANews.TV