First Gen income falls on lower RE contribution

LOPEZ-LED First Gen Corp. posted a first-quarter attributable net income of $78.82 million, marking an 11.7% decrease from last year’s $89.23 million due to a lower contribution from its renewables unit.

First Gen’s combined revenues for the first quarter fell by 8.5% to $596.4 million from $652.18 million as a result of lower volumes of electricity sold during the period, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Natural gas accounted for the majority of First Gen’s revenue at 65.1% or $388.29 million, followed by geothermal, wind, and solar at a combined 31.1% or $185.28 million, while the remainder is for its hydro at 2.9% or $17.2 million.

Revenues from First Gen’s renewable energy (RE) unit, Energy Development Corp. (EDC), excluding hydro’s revenues, fell by 19.3% to $185.3 million during the period from $229.6 million in the corresponding period a year ago.

The company attributed EDC’s decreased top line to the lower average sales volumes and lower average selling prices during the period.

Meanwhile, contributions from its hydro platforms soared by 8%, with recurring earnings of $8 million, 12% higher year on year.

The strong performance of the company’s hydro platforms was due to its takeover of the Casecnan hydroelectric power plant, the company said.

First Gen’s unit, Fresh River Lakes Corp., officially took over the operations of Casecnan in February, where the power plant generated $3-million attributable income for its one month of operations alone.

The operations of Casecnan mitigated the impact of lower recurring income from its Pantabangan-Masiway power plants, which ran on lower capacity due to low water reservoir levels, the company said.

The cost of electricity fell to $387.3 million compared with $423.8 million in 2023.

“As we expected, First Gen started the year slow with the expiration of San Gabriel’s contract with Meralco. Prices in the market were also generally lower with adequate supply available in the first quarter. This was cushioned by our takeover of Casecnan last February,” said Francis Giles B. Puno, president and chief operating officer of First Gen.

Listed energy company First Gen has a total of 3,668 megawatts of installed capacity, accounting for 20% of the Philippines’ gross power generation.

At the local bourse on Wednesday, shares in the company shed 54 centavos or 2.79% to end at P18.80 apiece. — Ashley Erika O. Jose