AC Energy eyes Singapore firm’s P20-B investment

THE board of AC Energy Philippines, Inc. has approved the proposal of Singapore-based GIC Private Limited’s affilate Arran Investment Pte Ltd. to invest around P20 billion in the Ayala-led company for a 17.5% ownership stake, it disclosed on Thursday.

The investment, which will be implemented through the subscription of 4 billion primary shares and the purchase of secondary shares from AC Energy, is priced at P2.97 per share on a post-stock rights offering basis. The price is also subject to agreed price adjustment and regulatory approval.

“The price represents a 25% premium to the board-approved stock rights offering (SRO) price of Php2.37/share, which is subject to regulatory approval, and is at par with the theoretical ex-rights price (TERP) using the 30-day VWAP (volume weighted average price) of Php3.51/share and the ACEN Board-approved SRO price of Php 2.37/share,” AC Energy said in a regulatory filing.

AC Energy, which is engaged in power generation and trading, and GIC’s subsidiary are scheduled to sign the transaction documents to implement the investment within this month.

Separately, the company told the stock exchange on Thursday that its net income out more than doubled to P953 million during the third quarter, as lockdown restrictions eased.

Revenues, which mostly came from the firm’s sale of electricity, rose by 49% to P5.28 billion. The company is a licensed retail electricity supplier.

Broken down, earnings from the sale of electricity increased by 51% from its previous value. Revenues from rental income, however, slumped by 80% from July to September.

During the third quarter, the cost of the sale of electricity went up 10% to P3.74 billion year-on-year. General and administrative expenses rose by 18 % to P446.63 million.

For the nine-month period ending September, AC Energy logged a consolidated net income of P3.02 billion, a leap from last year’s consolidated net loss of P216.98 million.

The firm’s revenues for the three quarters stood at P15.25 billion, a 28.5% increase from the previous figure.

AC Energy, which has expanded in the region through partnerships and greenfield projects, aims to exceed 5 gigawatts (GW) of renewables capacity and generate at least 50% energy output from renewables by 2025.

In 2019, its power portfolio registered an attributable capacity of more than 1.8 GW in operation and under construction, spanning projects in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Its attributable energy output last year rose by 25% to 3,500 gigawatt hours, of which half came from renewable energy sources.

This year, the company announced its investment in two Central Luzon solar plants, with an aggregate capacity of up to 150 megawatts (MW).

Shares in AC Energy on Thursday surged 5.4% to finish at P4.33 apiece. — Angelica Y. Yang