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Growth may be easing this year for ACEN Corp., but the Ayala-led renewable energy (RE) firm expects to be propelled into acceleration by 2026, as several of its projects begin contributing.
In a briefing with reporters, Jonathan Back, chief finance officer and chief strategy officer of ACEN, explained the flatter performance expected this year, even as the outlook for the end of 2025 remains optimistic.
“We wouldn’t expect to see such a high rate of growth at the operating [level] because we don’t have as much new capacity coming online in 2025 as we did in 2024. We’re in a slightly lumpy business, so there’ll be years where it’s very fast growth like last year, and then there’ll be some years where it’s flatter,” he said.
Back noted that some of the company’s key RE projects, including Monsoon wind project in Laos, have yet to come online.
The 600-megawatt (MW) Monsoon wind is set to be the first wind project in that country and the first cross-border wind project in Southeast Asia, supplying electricity to Vietnam.
According to ACEN, the project is expected to power nearly 300,000 households and reduce carbon emissions by up to 823,600 metric tons.
Currently, 133 wind turbine towers are being installed, with operations likely to begin toward the end of this year.
“Last year, our financial results were helped by the fact that depreciation hadn't started on some of the new projects, so while we would still expect to see good growth at the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) level for depreciation,” Back elaborated.
Moreover, ACEN’s finance chief anticipates a bounce back by 2026, aligned with Monsoon wind’s operational timeline. This positive momentum is expected to extend into 2027.
“I think we’d expect to see pretty robust growth [from 2025 to 2026, and 2026 to 2027], because we have good visibility on our project pipeline and new projects coming online over the next two to three years,” he added.
Last week, ACEN announced its intention to raise capital through a stock rights offering (SRO) by issuing up to ₱30 billion in primary common shares. It has also expressed interest in forming partnerships to accelerate its RE goals.
ACEN President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eric Francia said this would support the company’s renewable project expansions.
Besides Monsoon wind, other projects expected to be energized this year include the 160-MW Pagudpud wind, 57-MW Capa wind, and 60-MW Pangasinan solar project.
ACEN has also partnered with the United States (US)-based BrightNight for the 153-MW hybrid project in India.
