Cebu-based utility and infrastructure firm Vivant Corporation reported a slight decline in first-quarter earnings as losses from its off-grid power assets offset gains from its on-grid plants and expanding water business, the company said on Tuesday.
Vivant said consolidated core net income slipped 2% year-on-year to 313 million pesos ($5.5 million) in the January-to-March period, while reported net income attributable to equity holders fell 6% to 267 million pesos.
The company said its power generation business recorded a 16% drop in net income contribution after a one-off loss linked to a plant outage at an off-grid subsidiary weighed on results.
Still, Vivant’s 35%-owned utility Visayan Electric Company remained the group’s biggest earnings contributor, accounting for 267 million pesos or 48% of total net income contribution after electricity sales to captive customers rose 4% to 975 gigawatt-hours.
The company’s retail electricity supply arm, Corenergy, sold 91 GWh of energy during the quarter, up 43% from a year earlier as it expanded its customer base.
Vivant’s water business posted a turnaround, contributing 75 million pesos in income compared with a 12-million-peso loss a year ago, driven mainly by finance income from its desalination and wastewater concessions.
The company said it had also expanded its water footprint in Cebu after completing the acquisition of Bantayan Resource Management and Development Corporation in April, a water distributor serving more than 4,000 households in Bantayan town. Another subsidiary, Bantayan Island Water Solutions Corporation, also began commercial operations last month.
Vivant’s consolidated revenues rose 9% to 2.6 billion pesos during the quarter, supported by higher electricity sales and growing water-related income.
Cebu Business News
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