Celsia’s 2016 EBITDA, Net Income Both Rise Year-on-Year
Medellin-based electric power producer Celsia reported February 21 that its full-year 2016 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 51% year-on-year, to COP$1.03 trillion (US$357 million) – an all-time-record.
Net income also rose to COP$171 billion (US$59 million), while investments totaled COP$302 billion (US$104 million).
In fourth quarter (4Q) 2016, consolidated revenues totaled COP$793 billion (US$274 million), with its Central America power operations contributing nearly US$58 million, according to the company.
Full-year 2016 revenues reached COP$3.8 trillion (US$1.3 billion), up 3% year-on-year, thanks mainly to “good performance of the marketing, transmission and distribution businesses, which registered growth of 13%,” according to Celsia, a division of the Medellin-based Grupo Argos industrial conglomerate.
In 4Q 2016, cost of sales fell 53% year-on-year, “mainly due to the return to normal operating conditions in Colombia and in Central America due to the fall in [thermoelectric plant] fuel prices and the decrease in the marginal cost that favored the value of energy purchases,” according to Celsia.
Favorable EBITDA results in 2016 were the result of power-generation improvements in Colombia and Central America as well as in transmission-and-distribution business improvements.
“We are very satisfied with the results of the last quarter and of course with the consolidated results for the year,” said Celsia president Ricardo Sierra.
Key investments in 2016 included “technological updating of the Salvajina and Alto Anchicayá hydroelectric plants, as well as the investments focused on the construction of the ‘Plan5Caribe’ projects, which are progressing on schedule,” according to the company.
“After years of definitions, learning and appropriation of tools and technologies, solar generation projects and new businesses [have been] framed in customer segments: homes, companies and cities,” according to the company.
“The first major solar project was announced in February 2017 — the construction of the first large-scale farm in Colombia, called Celsia Solar Yumbo, a 9.9 MW [megawatt] project, consisting of 35,000 solar panels on a plot of 18 hectares in the municipality of Yumbo, which will generate approximately 16 GWh [gigawatt-hours] per year, equivalent to the monthly energy consumption of 8,000 homes. The solar farm starts construction in March and will start operating in the third quarter of this year.”
On a related front, “a technical evaluation of 92 potential clients is being carried out for the product of solar roofs with a total capacity of 37 MW, which is equivalent to almost two small power plants and about 38 hectares of roofs,” according to the company.
