Isagen 2015 Net Income Dips on Dollar-Denominated Sogamoso Debt
Medellin-based national power generator Isagen reported March 3 that its full-year 2015 net income dipped 17% year-on-year (y-o-y), to COP297 billion (US$93 million), due to higher taxes and higher costs for dollar-denominated debt that financed construction of its new, 805-megawatt (MW) “Sogamoso” hydroelectric plant.
Operating income rose 25% y-o-y—to COP2.8 trillion (US$884 million) – mainly thanks to the start-up of the Sogamoso plant, which boosted total power output by 21%.
Isagen is Colombia’s third-largest power generator with 3 gigawatts (GW) of capacity. A consortium led by Canada-based Brookfield Asset Management in early January paid about US$2 billion to buy-out the Colombian government’s remaining stake in Isagen (see Medellin Herald on January 13, 2016).
“The end of 2015 presented complex situations for power generation,” added Isagen general manager Luis Fernando Rico Pinzón.
“The maturation of the El Niño [drought], which resulted in a substantial decrease of hydrological flow [to hydroelectric plants], especially in the last quarter, plus a series of exceptional guidelines by [Colombia’s national power] regulator, led us to be especially careful in financial and operational management,” Rico added.
While the “Sogamoso” and “San Carlos” hydroelectric plants played a “key role” in the company’s power generation, the 300-MW “Termocentro” thermoelectric plant also helped supply power during drought conditions, according to Isagen.
