The Philippines’ largest coal miner, Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC), is seeing soaring revenues due to an unprecedented rise in coal prices, and global demand mounts to record highs.
In a disclosure, SMPC’s net income soared by 311 percent to P25.8 billion in the first half of the year but raised concerns of an additional customers burden in the power sector, which is already reeling from rising electricity prices and fuel costs.
In addition, the company said the 171 percent increase to P10.8 billion in its bottom line in the second quarter contributed to the upsurge.
Despite the positive overall performance in its net income, the company noted that it had a weaker performance quarter on quarter due to tempered demands because of the China lockdown.
The total coal shipments from April to June dropped by 24 percent from 4.9 million metric tons (MMT) to 3.7 MMT as China imposed virus lockdowns and shifted to Russian coal.
Export sales, meanwhile, plunged by 44 percent from 3.2 MMT to 1.8 MMT, while domestic sales grew by 12 percent from 1.7 MMT to 1.9 MMT.
On the other hand, the overall gross generation in the second quarter was mostly flat at 984 GWh as SCPC Unit 2 remained on forced outage because of a defective generator stator.
Total electricity sales declined by nine percent from 987 GWh to 900 GWh, most (56 percent) of which were sold to the spot market. The rest (393 GWh) was sold through bilateral contracts.