First Gen Corporation Reported US$205 Million Net Income in 9M24, Down 17%

​First Gen Corporation (First Gen or the Company), the Lopez Group‘s clean and renewable energy solutions provider, reported a 17% decrease in attributable recurring net income for the first nine months of 2024 at US$205 million (P11.6 billion) in comparison to US$249 million (P13.8 billion) in 2023. Energy Development Corporation’s (EDC) geothermal portfolio reported a combined decline in revenue and increase in cash operating expenses. However, higher profits from the natural gas business and the latest addition to the First Gen power portfolio, the 165MW Casecnan Hydroelectric Power Plant, were able to partially offset the decline from First Gen’s geothermal business.

​The Company generated US$1,847 million (P104.6 billion) in revenues in the first three quarters of 2024, a 2% decrease from US$1,891 million (P104.7 billion) in 2023. The lower revenues are mostly a result of lower volumes of electricity sold during the first nine months of the year. The natural gas portfolio, which includes First Gen’s LNG Terminal, accounted for 65% of First Gen’s total consolidated revenues, while 33% came from EDC’s geothermal, wind, and solar plants. The balance comes from the Company’s hydro business unit.

The natural gas business unit reported a 5% increase in recurring earnings for the first three quarters of the year to US$154 million (P8.7 billion) from US$147 million (P8.1 billion) last year. The 420 MW San Gabriel Power Plant (San Gabriel) and the 1,000 MW Santa Rita Power Plant (Santa Rita) both delivered higher operating income due to savings in operating expenses and high spot market prices in the case of San Gabriel. In addition, the LNG Terminal generated commissioning revenues from its pre-commercial operations and terminal fees. Only the 97MW Avion Power Plant had lower net income due to lower kilowatt hour sales and higher operating expenses.

EDC’s recurring attributable earnings (ex-Hydro) at US$58 million (P3.3 billion) for the first nine months of 2024 was 43% lower than its recurring attributable income of US$102 million (P5.7 billion) in 2023. The geothermal power plants under EDC generated lower sales and operating income due to a reduction in electricity prices and electricity sold, and higher operating expenses from steamfield maintenance and workover activities. The unit also incurred higher interest expenses from new debt.

The hydro platform’s contribution to First Gen’s recurring earnings was at US$14 million (P800 million) for the first three quarters of 2024. The Casecnan Hydroelectric Power Plant contributed US$12 million (P651 million) of recurring net income for its seven months of operations after its turnover to First Gen. This offset the lower recurring income of the 132 MW Pantabangan-Masiway power plants (PMHC) of US$3 million (P161 million) from US$6 million (P305 million) last year. PMHC had a reduction in the volume of electricity sold due to its low water reservoir levels. It also was affected by lower Wholesale Electricity Spot Market prices. The decline was buffered by its higher contract prices.

“Though EDC's net income is lower compared to last year's, it is generally in line with what we were forecasting this year. For the first nine months of 2024, there were lower volumes from Leyte due in part to unplanned outages and from our Burgos wind farm due to weaker wind. There were also considerable expenses related to our massive drilling program.

However, we expect this situation to reverse next year, as we see additional baseload renewable energy to come in from our ongoing 40-well drilling program and from the 83MW of additional geothermal plants that we are commissioning currently,” First Gen President and COO Francis Giles B. Puno stated.

First Gen is a leading independent power producer in the Philippines that primarily utilizes clean and indigenous fuels such as natural gas, geothermal energy from steam, hydroelectric, wind, and solar power. The Company has 3,668MW of installed capacity in its portfolio, which approximately accounts for 20% of the country’s gross generation. First Gen has set a target to grow to 13,000MW by 2030. First Gen is a subsidiary of First Philippine Holdings Corporation, one of the most established conglomerates in the Philippines, and has over 20 years of experience in power development. It is part of the Lopez Group of Companies.