First Philippine Holding 2017 recurring profit up 15%

FIRST Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH) reported on Friday a 15% increase in 2017 net profit on a recurring basis to P6.8 billion, which excludes a one-off item in connection with debt prepayments by unit First Gen Corp.
The net profit attributable to the parent declined 41% to to P5.9 billion.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the holding firm said the result was driven by “stronger recurring earnings” from its energy, real estate and manufacturing businesses.
The one-off item was attributed to energy subsidiary First Gen Corp.’s debt prepayments, which offset one-off gains from the San Gabriel plant’s liquidated damages and First Philippine Electric Corp.’s arbitration settlement.
FPH’s revenue increased 14% to P104.9 billion last year, “which was primarily driven by the higher revenue from sale of electricity following the full-year contributions of the Avion and San Gabriel gas plants, and from the real estate business on account of higher completion and sales booking of Rockwell’s projects.”
On Friday, shares in FPH rose 0.46% to P65.65.
First Gen earlier reported a recurring net profit of $163 million in 2017, little changed from a year earlier, as natural calamities that struck Leyte dampened the performance of its plants in the area.
First Gen’s non-recurring net profit in 2017 was $134 million, falling $29 million due to the one-time effect of break funding costs. The company presents its financial report in dollars, which is its functional currency.
The costs were incurred as a result of the $500 million refinancing of the 1,000-megawatt Santa Rita power plant’s long-term debt in May 2017, as well as premiums paid for the partial buyback of the dollar-denominated bonds of First Gen and subsidiary Energy Development Corp. — Victor V. Saulon