Philippines Meralco Expects To End '05 With Narrower Loss
Thursday, December 15, 2005
MANILA (Dow Jones)--Manila Electric Co. (MERB.PH), or Meralco, will still post a net loss this year, but it may be narrower than the PHP2.61 billion loss in 2004, the president of the Philippines' largest power distributor in terms of sales said Wednesday.
"This year's loss may not be as large as last year's," Meralco President and Chief Operating Officer Jesus Francisco told reporters.
But Francisco held off from providing an estimate, noting that the company has yet to see the impact on its December sales following higher power rates.
Rates rose by 6% to 8% after electricity was included in the coverage of the expanded value-added tax.
Ivanna dela Pena, Meralco's vice president for utility economics, said the company must also consider write-offs it may have to undertake to comply with new accounting standards.
Meralco had earlier reported a net loss of PHP243 million in the nine months to September. In the first three quarters of 2004, Meralco had a net profit of PHP2.2 billion but this was wiped out by a PHP9.8 billion provision made in the fourth quarter due to possible court rejection of its rate hike.
posted by philpower @ 11:18 PM,
