The Ayala group's listed energy platform, ACEN Corporation, announced that its consolidated net income for the first quarter of 2024 increased by 34% to P2.7 billion. A 49% increase in the amount of renewable energy that can be attributed to the organization is the reason for the notable improvement in its financial performance. Financial Highlights: Q1 2024 vs Q1 2023
In comparison to the same period last year, ACEN's key financial metrics in the first quarter significantly improved due to the company's continued ramp-up of new operating renewables capacity and the resulting strengthened net merchant selling position at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in the Philippines. These include some of the income booked in the first quarter from green certificates in the latter, as well as the contributions of recently operational solar and wind farms, particularly in the Philippines and Australia. Reduced wind output in North Luzon and Vietnam, the sale of a portion of Salak and Darajat geothermal in Indonesia in Q32023, and decreased WESM prices in the Philippines all offset the year-over-year improvements. For the quarter, statutory revenues—which are made up of the combined Australian and Philippine businesses—rose 8% year over year to P9.9 billion. In comparison to the same quarter last year, core attributable profits before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) increased by 32% to P5.3 billion, which includes ACEN's portion of EBITDA from non-consolidated operating projects. Thus, in the first quarter of 2024, consolidated net income after tax attributable to the parent increased by 34% to P2.7 billion. Included in this are P389 million in cash value realization proceeds from the partial sale of the company's loan to The Blue Circle's Mui Ne Wind project in Vietnam to Acciona Energia at a premium. Operating Highlights By March 31, 2024, ACEN's attributable renewable capacity had reached about 4.8 GW. By winning competitive tenders and signing over 1 GW of agreements, ACEN has successfully exceeded its target of achieving 5 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2025—nearly two years ahead of schedule. 65% of this capacity is now in full operation. The production from the previously mentioned newly operational plants drove a 49% increase in total attributable renewables output across ACEN's facilities worldwide, reaching 1,580 GWh, thanks to the company's enhanced operating capacity. Philippines In the first quarter of 2024, the Philippines' renewable energy plants produced 570 GWh, an 83% increase over the previous year. The output from the commissioning of new solar and wind farms—the 116 MW Arayat-Mexico Solar in Pampanga, the 133 MW Cagayan North Solar in Lal-lo, Cagayan, the 160 MW Pagudpud Wind in Ilocos Norte, and the 385 MW phases 1 and 2 of SanMar Solar in San Marcelino, Zambales—was the main factor behind the impressive results. International ACEN produced 1,010 GWh of attributable output outside of its home market, a 35% increase over the same quarter the previous year. New generation from large-scale solar projects, namely the 522 MW first phase of New England Solar in Australia, the 420 MW Masaya Solar, and the 287 MW first phase of the Super solar platform in Vietnam, propelled strong operational growth in the international business. Balance Sheet and Funding Highlights As of March 31, 2024, consolidated assets had grown by 2% to P289.3 billion. As the business continued to support its renewables capacity growth across its markets, long-term investments increased 6% to P165.5 billion, while cash reserves at the end of the quarter were at P27.3 billion, 31% less than at the end of the previous year. To support its long-term goals, the ACEN Group obtained loan facilities with many major banks in the first few months of the year. In January, ACEN insured lending facilities to refinance maturing green bonds with RCBC and PNB in the Philippines for a total of USD 320 million, in accordance with the tenets of its Green Finance Framework. Later, in February, to assist the company's development into renewable energy in Australia, ACEN Australia obtained AUD150 million in green term loans from ANZ and Westpac. Ultimately, in April, ACEN inked a USD 150 million green term loan facility with Sumitomo Mitsui through its subsidiary, ACEN Renewables International. Sustainability Highlights By receiving a "B" rating for their climate change disclosure from CDP, a global non-profit that manages the most popular environmental disclosure platform worldwide, ACEN demonstrated its commitment to environmental stewardship in March. With two more ratings than in the previous year, ACEN is further demonstrating its commitment to decarbonization and the highest environmental standards. Subsequently, in April, ACEN and The Rockefeller Foundation declared that up to 19 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions might be prevented by the first Coal to Clean Credit Initiative (CCCI) pilot project being considered in the Philippines. The analysis, which was made public during Financing Asia's Transition Conference, revealed that the project satisfies the draft methodology's eligibility requirements and that carbon financing will be necessary for decommissioning by 2030. Eric Francia, ACEN President and CEO, said, “The company’s solid first quarter result reflects the steady realization of our long term strategy. We will continue to build on this momentum as we focus on excellence in execution. Having passed the 5 GW goal almost two years ahead of schedule, we are in a strong position to realize our vision to reach 20 GW of renewables by 2030.” Jonathan Back, ACEN CFO and Chief Strategy Officer, said, “As we delivered 1.6 GW in new operating capacity at the start of the year, our commitment to execution is beginning to realize benefits with solid core operating results. Backed by a robust balance sheet and strong strategic partnerships, ACEN’s performance in the first quarter augurs well for the rest of 2024 and the achievement of our long-term goals.” ACEN (PSE:ACEN) is the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group. The company has ~4,800 MW of attributable capacity from owned facilities in the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia and India, with a renewable share of 99 percent, among the highest in the region. ACEN’s aspiration is to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia, with a goal of reaching 20 GW of renewables capacity by 2030. ACEN is committed to transition the company’s generation portfolio to 100 percent renewable energy by 2025 and to become a Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions company by 2050.
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