PNOC-EDC posts record P8.9-B profit
Monday, March 06, 2006
Counting an exceptional 30 years of operation, the Philippine National Oil Company-Energy Development Corporation (PNOC-EDC) logged its highest net income so far of P8.9 billion last year from P2.9 billion in 2004 and a low of P0.1 billion in 2003.
Company officials attributed such sweeping improvement in its profitability mainly to foreign exchange gains, with the local currency snatching dramatic edge over foreign currencies, from which most of its borrowings are fixed.
PNOC-EDC president Paul A. Aquino explained that the company’s level of foreign exchange losses have been slashed significantly with the improvement in Philippine peso’s standing both against the Japanese yen and US dollar.
"The recorded income is primarily due to forex gains, so it is clear that it is not yet a real operational profit that we are having," he stressed.
Bulk of the loans being availed of by the state-run energy firm had been aligned to payments for obligations under its build-operate-transfer (BOT) contracts.
Given that its last BOT contract is yet to expire in 2009, Aquino noted that his management is still keen on pursuing previously planned initial public offering (IPO) for at least 25 to 30 percent of the company’s existing shares, so it could beef up cash hoard and it might be able to avoid securing new loans.
Within this year, the company is programmed for another -million loan, supposedly to tie it over until the scheduled retirement of its BOT contracts in 2006 and 2007.
The scheduled BOT contract retirements for 2006 and 2007 are for the Upper Mahiao, Malitbog and Mahanagdong; and the Mindanao 1 geothermal units.
Even with these deals already due to lapse, Aquino emphasized that until 2009 to 2010, the company is still burdened with the settlement of some 0 million loan that had been used to pay contract obligations.
It has been pointed out that the state-run energy firm has had to resort to heavy borrowings previously because it has been paying dollar-indexed contracts for energy conversion; while the electricity sold forward to National Power Corporation (NPC) is settled in pesos. (MMV)
The company further revealed that with its profitable operations, the company was able to pay an aggregate P10.1 billion and plowed back P918 million dividends to the national government.
PNOC-EDC accounting manager Elvira L. Punzalan noted that the company brought in retained earnings of P6.0 billion up to December 31, 2005.
"These earnings and its P10 billion capital stock comprise the P16 billion in stockholders equity to date," she explained. (MMV)
posted by philpower @ 7:49 AM,
