Alsons Consolidated Resources, Inc. (ACR) recorded a drop in its third-quarter net income attributable to parent equity holder, but profit for the nine months through September was strong.

In the third quarter, ACR’s attributable net income slipped 9.3% to P28.62 million. For the nine-month period, income climbed nearly seven times to P360.6 million, the company’s quarterly report to the Philippine Stock Exchange showed.

Philip Edward B. Sagun, ACR’s deputy chief financial officer, said in a statement that the Alcantara group’s energy business remains “cautiously optimistic” on its financial performance for the year.

“We expect higher revenues and profit margins from the full commercial operations of the Sarangani Energy plant. We will also reap the benefits of lower operating costs as we continue to maintain cost efficiency measures,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

ACR’s top line figure in the third quarter rose by 28.8% to P2.03 billion, as revenues from contracts increased amid relaxed lockdown measures.

On a year-to-date basis, total revenues stood at P7.32 billion, an improvement of 56.4% from the figure a year ago.

The Mindanao-based firm’s consolidated net income in the three quarters to September more than doubled to P1.67 billion, as the company’s 201-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Maasim, Sarangani continued to be a main profit driver.

The $570-million plant, run by the Sarangani Energy Corp., is the largest power investment in the province.

The company also revealed its plans to pursue new power projects in Sarangani, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Norte and Negros Occidental to aid the country’s economic healing, said ACR Executive Vice President Tirso G. Santillan, Jr.

“[This] is our contribution to the economic recovery of our country by helping create new jobs and stimulate the local economies in these areas,” Mr. Santillan said in a statement.

ACR, known as the first private-sector power generator in Mindanao, has a portfolio of four power facilities with an aggregate capacity of 468 MW.

Its shares on Tuesday decreased by 6.8% to finish at P1.37 apiece. — Angelica Y. Yang