Meralco earnings at all-time high

February 25, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan’s Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) surpassed its targets last year, achieving historic all-time high earnings driven by the robust growth across its portfolio.

At a press conference yesterday, Meralco officials reported that consolidated core net income sizzled by 22 percent to P45.14 billion in 2024 from P37.11 billion previously.

This was higher than the P43 billion profit guidance set by the company in the first half.

The income growth was propelled by the steady contribution of the distribution utility (DU), strong performance of power generation and notable improvement of the retail electricity supply (RES) business.

The DU segment accounted for the largest share of earnings at 62 percent, followed by power generation (24 percent) as well as RES and non-electricity businesses (14 percent).

Revenues, on the other hand, edged six percent higher to P470.4 billion from P443.6 billion on a yearly basis, thanks to higher energy sales volume and increased pass-through transmission charges.

“We previously put together a strategy to maintain a balanced mix of regulated and unregulated businesses to accelerate growth and enhance profitability, and we are actively executing this strategy,” said Pangilinan, who serves as Meralco’s chairman and CEO.

For DU, the group registered a record energy sales volume, heating up by six percent to 54,325 gigawatt-hours from 51,044 GWh due to stronger demand amid warmer temperatures caused by El Niño.

Also contributing to Meralco’s strong results was the power generation business, which ended the year with a 10-percent increase in earnings.

With a net sellable capacity of 2,436 megawatts across the Philippines and Singapore, the segment delivered 15,296 GWh of power, up by seven percent year-on-year.

The RES business, meanwhile, contributed P5.7 billion in earnings as it delivered a combined power of 6,794 GWh.

“As we progress through 2025, we foresee substantial organic sales growth, enhanced EPS (earnings per share) and robust free cash flow, all in alignment with our long-term growth strategy,” Pangilinan said.

“We remain dedicated to our integrated strategy, focusing on a customer-centric distribution utility. Quite apart from the conventional view of profits and positive cash flows, our commitment to reliable service, affordable energy and customer centricity also drives shareholder value,” he added.

For 2025, Pangilinan expects Meralco’s income to reach at least P50 billion.