BOLSTERED by one-time gains from the sale of its 20% stake in Meralco in July 2009, First Philippine Holdings Corporation (FPHC) posted a net income attributable to equity holders of the parent amounting to P7.8 billion. The one-time gain from the Meralco sale amounted to P7.2B. Recurring net income of P615 million outperformed last year’s restated bottom line of P156M.

On July 14, 2009, FPHC completed the sale of 223 million Meralco common shares, or approximately 20% of the latter’s outstanding common stock, for P20.07B. The deal was made pursuant to an investment and cooperation agreement signed between FPHC and PLDT on March 12, 2009 wherein both parties also agreed on certain corporate governance principles such as the nomination of directors to the Meralco board.

FPHC president and COO Elpidio L. Ibañez said, “Our strategic efforts to pare down debt at the holding company level and strengthen our balance sheet have so far yielded strong results. Moving forward, the proceeds of the sale will provide us with excellent opportunities to further create value for our shareholders.” Consolidated revenues amounted to P43.5B during the period, down by 6% compared to last year. The decline was mainly driven by lower electricity sales resulting from lower average gas prices and reduced dispatch of the power plants owned by First Gen Corporation, FPHC’s major subsidiary in power generation. Correspondingly, consolidated costs and expenses went down by 8% to P35.1B.

Finance costs of P5.3B went up by 17% compared to last year mainly due to the $544M refinancing of First Gas Power Corporation (FGPC) and a P5.4B corporate notes issuance of Unified Holdings Corporation (UHC). Both FGPC and UHC are First Gen units. Other income declined by 80% to P127M due mainly to mark-tomarket gains on derivative transactions recorded by First Gen in 2008.

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