First Gen Corporation's Q12024 Attributable Recurring Net Income at US$81M

The clean and renewable energy provider of the Lopez Group, First Gen Corporation (First Gen), reported a 9% decline in attributable recurring net income for the first quarter of 2024, coming in at US$81 million (P4.5 billion) as opposed to US$89 million (P4.9 billion) for the same period in 2023.

Energy Development Corporation’s (EDC) geothermal portfolio produced lower recurring net income versus the same period last year mainly from the combined decline of its revenues due to lower power prices and an increase in its operating expenses. First Natgas Power Corporation, the owner of the 420MW San Gabriel natural gas-fired power plant (San Gabriel), likewise suffered from a drop in revenues as its power supply agreement with Meralco expired last February.

The Company generated US$596 million (P33.3 billion) in revenues in the first 90 days of 2024, a 9% decrease of US$56 million (P2.6 billion) from US$652 million (P36.0 billion) in 2023. The lower revenues are a result of lower volumes of electricity sold during the quarter across all platforms, save for the hydro platform due to the addition of the 165MW Casecnan Power Plant (Casecnan) to the First Gen portfolio. The natural gas portfolio accounted for 65% of First Gen’s total consolidated revenues, while 31% came from EDC’s geothermal, wind, and solar plants. The balance comes from the Company’s hydro plants and First Gen Energy Solutions, its Retail Electricity Supplier.

The natural gas power plants reported a slight 4% decrease in recurring earnings for the first quarter of 2024 to US$43 million (P2.4 billion) from US$45 million (P2.5 billion) in Q12023. As aforementioned, San Gabriel posted lower earnings resulting from its power supply contract expiration. This was mostly offset by the higher recurring earnings of both the 97 MW Avion Power Plant (Avion) and the 1,000 MW Santa Rita Power Plant (Santa Rita). Both plants enjoyed higher operating income from Santa Rita’s higher fees from an increase in its net dependable capacity and Avion’s lower fuel costs. In addition, FGEN LNG Corporation (FGEN LNG) generated commissioning revenues from its pre-commercial operations. It generated a recurring net income of $6 million in the first quarter.

EDC’s recurring earnings (ex-Hydro) at US$26 million (P1.4 billion) for the first quarter of 2024 was 33% lower than its recurring income of US$38 million (P2.1 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.

The hydro platform’s contribution to First Gen’s recurring earnings was at US$8 million (P435 million) for Q12024, a 12% uptick from its 2023 first quarter recurring income of US$7 million (P382 million). The takeover of Casecnan in February 2024 resulted in $2 million (P93 million) of recurring net income for its one month of operations in the first quarter. This offset the lower recurring income of the 132 MW Pantabangan-Masiway power plants (PMHC) of US$6 million (P349 million) from $7 million (Php 387 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.

“As we expected, First Gen started the year slow with the expiration of San Gabriel’s contract with Meralco. Prices in the market were also generally lower with adequate supply available in Q12024. This was cushioned by our takeover of Casecnan last February. San Gabriel likewise went on a major maintenance outage as soon as its contract with Meralco expired in order to be ready for the current extreme weather condition that’s amplifying the need for more power. San Gabriel is currently supplying crucial capacity to the grid after coming back online on April 6,” 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 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.