Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said it will maintain its P19-billion income guidance for the year despite a slower second half due to the absence of warmer temperatures.

“[The second half] will not be as strong as the first half especially during the summer months because we will not feel the effect of [higher] temperature,” Meralco president and CEO Oscar Reyes said.

He said growth will be supplied by their customer base expansion as well as the economy’s growth.

“I think the impact of the real growth and the fact that in the case of residential, verticals and horizontals are there and [continue to] increase in numbers. You’ve got an expanding customer base and then commercial sector seems to continue to be busy,” he said.

In July, its officials said full-year income is expected to be the same as 2015’s results. Core net income went up to P18.89 billion last year.

The company’s income fell during the first half of 2016 due to a one-off cost recovery the previous year and lower distribution rates this year. Income fell 11 percent to P10.4 billion from P11.8 billion during the same period last year. (Read: Meralco profit declines on lower distribution rates)