Meralco sees core profit topping P50.6B this year on power, retail supply growth

By Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Reporter

MANILA ELECTRIC Co. (Meralco) expects its full-year earnings to surpass last year’s record core net income of P50.6 billion, driven by higher electricity sales, growing contributions from its power generation business, and continued expansion of its retail electricity supply (RES) operations.

“I think the full-year profits would be ahead of last year,” Meralco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters on the sidelines of the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Tuesday.

He said the company is optimistic about its performance as its distribution business continues to post higher energy sales volumes, while its power generation segment is benefiting from the rollout of the P200-billion MTerra Solar Project and the continued growth of its RES business.

“All three businesses are doing quite well,” he said.

Asked whether Meralco has set a formal earnings target for 2026, Mr. Pangilinan said management would provide more detailed guidance after the release of its first-half financial results.

“Let’s wait for the first half results, maybe then we can give guidance. But definitely ahead,” he said.

In 2025, Meralco’s core net income rose 14% to a record P50.6 billion from P45.1 billion a year earlier, meeting the company’s profit target.

The growth was driven by higher earnings from its power generation business and sustained contributions from its electricity distribution operations.

Consolidated revenues increased 6% to P497.3 billion, supported by higher distribution charges, stronger power generation revenues, and increased electricity sales under its RES business.

For the first quarter, Meralco reported a 2% increase in core net income to P11.4 billion, despite lower energy sales in its distribution business.

Meanwhile, Meralco Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer Ronnie L. Aperocho said the company has invested a record P28.5 billion in capital expenditures in 2025 to strengthen and modernize its electricity distribution network.

The company has built four new substations, expanded seven existing substations, upgraded four sub-transmission lines, hardened facilities against storms and other calamities, and continued modernizing its distribution infrastructure, he said.

“2025 was a banner year for Meralco. But more importantly, 2025 was the year when we flipped the new chapter of our story. The road ahead is not easy but we are ready,” Mr. Aperocho added.

Meralco is the country’s largest private electric distribution utility, serving more than 8.2 million customers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, including Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and parts of Laguna, Batangas, Pampanga, and Quezon.

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.