Alsons confident of 57% hike in profit for year

The Daily Tribune
By Ayen Infante

Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR), an investment holding company with major exposure in energy, power and property development and product distribution, is on track for a 57 percent increase in net income for this year to P158 million from the level a year ago, ACR chairman Tomas Alcantara said after the announcement by ACR of a P0.01 per share cash dividend last week.

The power subsidiaries of this listed holding company, operating power generating plants out of Southern Mindanao remain as the major revenue drivers of ACR.

With its proven track record of putting up greenfield power generating plants, Alcantara talked of the new 200-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant its power holding subsidiary Conal Holdings was developing in Maasim, Sarangani.

He said bids by invited contractors to build the facility have already been submitted and a contract award is expected before the end of the first quarter of next year.

The new plant seeks to address the looming power shortage in Southern Mindanao area as early as 2011 and the projected increase in demand for the next decade.

Alcantara added the 200-MW power plant was the most advanced among several other power and energy projects in the ACR pipeline.

These included the proposed 100,000 liter-per-day bioethanol plant in Cagayan de Oro and the planned 42-MW Siguil mini hydroelectric project also in Sarangani province. These new revenue streams should contribute to ACR’s earnings in the medium and long terms.

Alcantara said ACR is also pursuing opportunities in mining thru its wholly-owned subsidiary ACR Mining Corporation (ACRMC) in 2010.

ACRMC now has a 75 percent interest in the Manat Exploration Joint Venture Agreement, with the other 25 percent interest being owned by Southern Exploration Corporation (SECO), an affiliate of Indophil Resources NL of Australia. The exploration joint venture is seeking to complete the exploration of ACR’s mining claims in Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley.

Various options are being considered in the operation of the mines post exploration, including the expansion of the coverage and a tie-up with other mining outfits with long and proven track records on extractive operations. The discovered deposits have since almost doubled in value since the last independent valuation due to the increase in the price of gold. Read more...