ACEN Corporation, the energy arm of the Ayala group, recorded a significant 94% increase in its consolidated net income in this year’s first semester, amounting to Php 4.2 billion.
ACEN’s performance was accompanied by a rise in overhead, as the company increased its workforce to support the acceleration of its renewable energy (RE) expansion.
“Our growth continues to be robust midway through 2023. We’ve made considerable progress with the continued ramp-up of our projects, helping provide much-needed supply to the Philippines and across the region. This has transitioned us to a net selling position in the Philippine spot market and strengthened our financial performance.” said ACEN President and CEO Eric Francia.
The energy company also disclosed a 28% surge in its consolidated revenues, reaching Php 20.5 billion, attributed to a stronger wind regime and increased operating capacity due to the testing and commissioning of new projects. These factors contributed to ACEN’s favorable position, even amidst the high prices in the Philippine Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
ACEN’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), including those from non-consolidated operating associates and joint ventures also rose 20%, totaling Php 9.4 billion in the first semester of this year.
Furthermore, ACEN’s Philippine operations experienced substantial growth in renewable energy (RE) generation, increasing by 568 Gigawatt hours (GWh), representing a 30% rise.
This impressive performance was primarily attributed to the successful operation of a robust wind project, including the commissioning of the 160 megawatts (MW) Pagudpud Wind Farm in Ilocos Norte, the country’s largest wind farm, and the second phase of the 44 Megawatts defined condition (MWdc) Arayat-Mexico Solar Farm in Pampanga.
As for ACEN’s international portfolio, it generated 17% more than in 2022. The increase came from improved capacity in Indonesia, wind farms in Vietnam, and the build-up of the first phase of 521 MWdc of New England Solar in New South Wales, Australia. All of these projects generated 1,483 GWh.
Consolidated assets rose to 4%, amounting to Php 242.7 billion. Long-term investments also grew 19% to Php 130.7 billion as the company continued to increase its RE portfolio, while 2.7 gigawatts (GW) remained under construction.
ACEN is steadfast in reaching the 20 GW goal in renewables capacity. The company is diversifying its portfolio, which already includes 4.3 GW of operational and under-construction renewable energy projects.