Trans-Asia to Fund P2.829 million Guimaras Project

Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp. said on Monday it has released P2.829 million from the proceeds of its 2012 stock rights offering (SRO) to fund expensed in a renewable energy (RE) project. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Trans-Asia said it will use the funds for the 54 MW wind energy project in San Lorenzo, Guimaras.

Unit Trans-Asia Renewable Energy Corp. has already received the declaration of commerciality from the Department of Energy for said project under Wind Energy Service Contract 2009-10-009. The confirmation affirms the conversion the contract to development and commercial stages with a full term of 25 years, or until October 22, 2034. Trans-Asia earlier said the project is estimated to cost $150 million, which it expects to finance through a combination of debt and equity investment of strategic partners.

“The wind energy projects present an attractive investment opportunity due largely to the financial incentives provided by the RE Law. The company believes that it has a good opportunity of becoming one of the first major players in the wind energy sector. The company has 20 service contracts to explore, develop and produce energy from wind sources in different locations throughout the Philippines,” Trans-Asia said.

Net income grew to P164.9 million for the first quarter of the year from P41.8 million in the same period last year, while consolidated revenues increased to P431.7 million in the first quarter from P181.3 million in 2012.  The company attributed the significant improvement in its financial performance to higher net trading revenue from the power supply business.

Net trading revenue rose to P293 billion in the first quarter from P144 million in the same period last year owing to increased energy sales in kilowatt-hour as well as lower power costs. Retained earnings increased from P1.95 billion to P2.11 billion due to the higher net income earned for the first quarter of 2013.

Trans-Asia said the rate of return on stockholders’ equity increased to 2.36 percent in the first quarter of 2013 from 0.93 percent for the first quarter of 2012, as a result of higher net income in the period despite the increase in capital stock. Earnings per share were higher at P0.034 in the first quarter of 2013 compared to P0.015 in the same period of 2012.