SEMIRARA Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) has remitted P5.9 billion in government royalty to the Department of Energy, which the listed energy company described as “the highest in its corporate history.”
“We had an exceptionally strong start, so much so that in three months, we surpassed our previous full-year royalty payments,” said SMPC President and Chief Operating Officer Maria Cristina C. Gotianun in a statement on Monday.
The record amount, which is nearly nine times more than the P656 million a year ago, comes as the company registered all-time-high coal shipments and average selling prices.
Of the P5.9 billion remitted to the Energy department as the government share, more than P3.5 billion will be retained by the national government.
The rest of the amount will go to the host local government units of SMPC’s mine site. Antique province will receive P476 million while Caluya town and Brgy. Semirara will receive around P1.1 billion and P833 million, respectively.
Local government units are entitled to a 40% share of royalty proceeds from petroleum, coal, geothermal, hydrothermal and wind resources, as called for by the Local Government Code of 1991.
Last year, SMPC said it paid a total of P5.4 billion to department “as improved coal output and favorable market conditions allowed the company to ship more coal at elevated prices.”
SMPC, the country’s largest coal producer, describes itself as the only vertically integrated power generator in the country that produces its own fuel. It supplies coal to local power plants, cement factories and other industrial facilities.
On Monday, shares in the company rose 1.36% or 45 centavos to close at P33.50 apiece.
