Meralco profit up 24 % in Q3

Meralco announced that its quarterly profit rose 24 percent on higher sales, prompting it to lift full year core profit guidance by 4 percent.

The company's energy sales in January to September rose 0.3 percent to 22,725 gigawatt hours, the highest recorded for any nine-month period.

Net income for the September quarter was 3.86 billion pesos or $90 million from 3.12 billion pesos a year earlier. Core net income, which strips out currency and derivatives-related items, rose 15 percent to 3.84 billion pesos.

Net income for the first nine months of 2011 rose 25 percent to 9.95 billion pesos and core net income jumped 27 percent to 11.66 billion pesos.

President and Chief Executive Manuel Pangilinan said Meralco has raised its 2011 core net income guidance to 14.5 billion pesos from 14 billion pesos previously.

Core net income last year was a record 12.2 billion pesos.

The higher guidance comes after the Energy Regulatory Commission last month ordered a reduction in Meralco's distribution rate by an average 2.7 percent.

Oscar Reyes, Meralco chief operating officer, said the company needed to cut costs and accelerate developing new revenue streams.

Meralco is looking to re-enter the power generation business and build new facilities with a total capacity of 1,500 megawatts to meet an expected increase in power demand in coming years.

"We expect to get our first coal plant on stream by the first quarter of 2015. In the meantime, we are looking at various options to fast-track our development of other generating plants," Pangilinan said.

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