Manila: Officials of Vivant Corporation, a publicly listed conglomerate with major investments in energy and water industries, remain optimistic about their full-year operations despite a 19-percent year-on-year drop in first-half consolidated core net income. In a disclosure Wednesday, Vivant Chief Executive Officer Arlo Sarmiento acknowledged that while market uncertainties persist, the diversified structure of the company's businesses successfully cushioned the overall earnings impact.
According to Philippines News Agency, Sarmiento stated that the firm's power generation segment maintained a robust performance. "Our maiden solar facility has positively contributed to net income, and we expect our RE (renewable energy) portfolio to expand further this year with the completion of new projects," he said. "Meanwhile, contributions from Vivant Water have been improving as we solidify our presence in bulk water, water distribution, and wastewater treatment."
Sarmiento highlighted the turnaround that comes despite the drop in first-half profits to PHP784 million as of end-June. The company attributed the decline to net losses due to unplanned downtime of its subsidiary, foreign exchange gains, and insurance proceeds. Specifically, it traced the lower contribution of its energy business to the outage of one engine of its 31-megawatt diesel and bunker-fired off-grid power generator in Puerto Princesa, the Delta P, Inc.
The energy business generated PHP1.3 billion to the first-half net income, with power generation driving 66 percent of the total at PHP853 million. The electricity distribution business shared PHP553 million, but retail energy registered a PHP118 million loss due to a lower average selling price from the retail electricity supply sales. The water business added PHP174 million to the consolidated net income, marking an 86 percent surge from a year ago.
The company attributed this growth to the financial recognition of the Isla Mactan-Cordova Corporation (IMCC) and the Puerto Princesa Wastewater Reclamation and Learning Center (PPWRLC) concessions. IMCC operates the country's first utility-scale seawater desalination plant in Cordova, Cebu, while PPWRLC serves as Puerto Princesa City's sole wastewater and septage treatment facility.
