Integrated energy company Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC) reported a 279-percent upturn in second-quarter consolidated net income from P1.05 billion to P3.98 billion mainly due to record-high coal sales and prices.

Its coal segment accounted for P3.04 billion, 504 percent higher from P503 million last year. Contributions from power subsidiary Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corporation (SLPGC) likewise grew by triple digits (730%) from a net loss of P57 million to P359 million. SEM-Calaca Power Corporation (SCPC), on the other hand, recorded a 3-percent dip in earnings contribution from P602 million to P581 million.

At the end of the first half, SMPC consolidated net income stood at P6.28 billion, up by 181 percent from P2.24 billion and nearly double its 2020 full-year net income of P3.26 billion.

“We had a very good second quarter because of favorable market conditions. Sustaining our performance will be a challenge given the onset of the rainy season and our plant outages but we are determined to optimize our performance,” said SMPC President and COO Maria Cristina C. Gotianun.

Coal sales from April to June jumped by 96 percent year-on-year from 2.5 million metric tons (MMT) to 4.9 MMT, the highest quarterly sales volume ever recorded by SMPC.

In the same period, average selling price of Semirara coal surged by 49 percent from P1,601 to P2,393 as Newcastle coal prices peaked at US$136 in June, the highest level in more than a decade.

Total electricity sales in the second quarter grew by 11 percent from 892 GWh to 987 GWh owing to a 96-percent improvement in SLPGC gross generation.

Meanwhile, average selling price rose by 43 percent from P2.87 to P4.11 on account of a 173-percent increase in spot selling prices.