Meralco 2020 Net Income: In a press-release disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on March 1, 2021, Manila Electric Company or Meralco (ticker symbol: MER) said that the company posted 2020 Consolidated Core Net Income (CCNI) of P21.7Bn, 9% lower than the P23.8Bn CCNI in 2019.

Meralco 2020 Net Income

Financial Highlights

Financial highlights as posted on the Philippine Stock Exchange website are quoted below:

“Capital Expenditures (“CAPEX”) implemented for electric capital projects (“ECP”) and non-electric projects (“NEP”) during the year totaled Pesos 20.8billion, 3% higher than the value implemented in 2019 despite challenges faced due to community quarantine restrictions. The bulk of the ECPs include new and uprating of 115 kV lines, and expansion of existing distribution and delivery-point substations to address the increasing capacity requirements. Significant ECPs were implemented as well to rehabilitate and uprate distribution transformers and lines to accommodate WFH and ODL arrangements.

Consolidated electricity revenues were at Pesos267.9 billion for 2020, 14% lower than the Pesos 310.1 billion in 2019.  Pass-through component accounted for 77% of total electricity revenues in 2020.

Purchased power costs were at Pesos 204.4 billion, 15% lower than 2019 mainly as a result of the lower generation costs (Pesos 4.19per kWh in 2020 versus Pesos4.97 per kWh in 2019), due to the implementation of new PSAs, decrease in prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (“WESM”) on account of the reduction in the Luzon demand, lower fuel prices, peso appreciation and force majeure claims invoked by Meralco against its power suppliers. This claim reduced fixed costs and avoided charges with temporary suspension of mid-merit supply contracts providing savings of Pesos 2.4 billion to consumers.

Consolidated Core Net Income (“CCNI”) for 2020 was at Pesos21.7 billion, close to 9% lower compared with Pesos23.8 billion in 2019.

Core Earnings per Share was at Pesos19.262.

Total interest-bearing debt is slightly lower at Pesos 40.1 billion (including debt of subsidiaries totaling Pesos 4.0billion) at the end of 2020. In December 2020, Meralco redeemed the balance of the 7-year fixed rate note issued in 2013, amounting to Pesos 3.2 billion.

Meralco remains to be in a strong liquidity position with net debt at the end of 2020 of negative Pesos 10.8billion and Net Debt to EBITDA at negative 0.36x.  Total principal debt repayments, customer refunds and financing charges paid amounted to Pesos 5.4billion in 2020. “

Cash Dividend

In a separate disclosure, Meralco declared cash dividend of P7.824 per share, with ex-date of March 24, 2021 and payment date of April 26, 2021. The company described this cash dividend as final, having the interim cash dividend of P4.697 per share paid to shareholders on September 15, 2020.

That means Meralco shareholders should not expect to receive another dividend payout from the company within this year.