Consunji-led Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC) is budgeting around Php4 billion for its capital expenditure (capex) program this year.
SMPC said Php2.9 billion of the total budget will be used to fund mining and support equipment for its coal business. The rest, meanwhile, will be used for preventive and maintenance programs of subsidiaries Sem-Calaca Power Corporation and Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corporation.
Capex is used to fund and purchase major physical goods or resources to improve and extend the life of a company’s assets.
“2020 was a tough year for us because our coal and power businesses were hit by pandemic-induced market weakness. We are determined to stage a recovery this year,” SMPC President and COO Maria Cristina Gotianun said in a statement.
“However, the magnitude of our recovery will largely depend on how demand and prices will behave following the vaccination rollout, COVID-19 infection rates, and loosening of quarantine restrictions,” she emphasized.
To support its recovery plan, the integrated energy company also aims to produce 13 million metric tons of coal this year, similar to its actual production last year due to ongoing remedial measures in its Molave North Block 7 (NB7) mine site in Semirara Island, Antique.
Last December, SMPC voluntarily postponed mining activities in the said location to allow its technical consultants and mining personnel to apply remedial measures to manage NB7.
Photo from SMPC website.
