Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC) is expecting stronger financial results in the second half of 2024, due to stable coal prices and an improving energy business.
In a report by Philippine Star, SMPC President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Maria Cristina Gotianun said the company expects higher earnings compared to the first half of the year. With coal prices stabilizing, the SMPC COO said that the mining sector will drive the company’s improved financial performance in the coming months.
SMPC’s energy business is also gaining momentum after a successful overhaul of its power plant, which is now operating at a capacity of 300 megawatts (MW).
The firm is operating four power plants with a combined capacity of 900 MW, including a 2×300-MW coal plant under Sem-Calaca Power Corporation and a 2×150-MW plant under Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corporation
Previously, SMPC tapped Toshiba Corporation to improve the performance and lengthen the life of the Calaca power plants in Batangas. Gotianun is confident that the overhaul of Sem-Calaca Unit 2 will help offset outages at other power plants.
She also mentioned that the company’s revenue from energy sales will depend on average prices in the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM).
Gotianun pointed out that last year’s average WESM price was greater than that of 2024, so the firm is expecting better earnings. SMPC has been supplying electricity through bilateral contracts and sells excess power to WESM, a centralized trading platform for electricity.
For the first half of 2024, SMPC reported a 34% profit drop, amounting to Php 12.6 billion, down from Php 19.2 billion, due to weaker selling prices, higher coal production costs, and increased coal and electricity sales volumes.
In the second quarter alone, earnings fell 41% to Php 6 billion, compared to Php 10.2 billion in the same period last year, driven by falling coal and electricity prices.
