What Is ACEN, and Why Should You Care?
ACEN Corporation (stock ticker: ACEN on the Philippine Stock Exchange) is the energy company of the Ayala Group — one of the biggest and oldest business groups in the Philippines. But ACEN isn’t just any energy company. It focuses 100% on renewable energy — meaning solar, wind, geothermal, and other “clean” power sources. No coal, no oil.
Think of ACEN like a company that sells electricity generated from sunlight and wind — not just in the Philippines, but also in Australia, India, Vietnam, and Lao PDR (Laos).
The Big News: ACEN Made ₱3.8 Billion in 2025 — But That’s Actually Way Down
According to ACEN’s official press release, the company earned a consolidated net income of ₱3.8 billion for the full year 2025. Sounds like a lot, right? But here’s the twist — that’s actually a 60% drop compared to the year before (2024).
So why did profits fall so much? Three main reasons:
- Wind turbines broke down. ACEN has wind farms in Ilocos Norte in Northern Luzon. Several turbines went offline (stopped working), which meant less electricity generated and less money earned. The good news? Most of those turbines were repaired and back to running by the end of 2025.
- Less sunlight than expected. Solar panels need sunshine to generate electricity. In 2025, some of ACEN’s solar farms experienced “weaker solar irradiance” — basically, it was cloudier than normal in some areas — so they produced less power.
- Electricity prices dropped. In both the Philippines and Australia, the “spot price” of electricity (the real-time market price) fell significantly. In the Philippines, the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) price dropped 28% year-on-year to an average of just ₱3.6 per kilowatt-hour.
Strip Out the One-Time Hits, and the Picture Looks Better
Here’s a useful detail for understanding company earnings: sometimes, big one-time events distort the numbers. In ACEN’s case, the company recorded a ₱2.5 billion impairment — essentially, it had to write down the value of a wind project asset in Vietnam because it’s now worth less than what they paid for it.
If you remove that one-time write-down (and other non-recurring items), ACEN’s recurring net income was actually ₱6.3 billion — a modest 4% increase from the year before. That’s the “underlying” or “core” business performance, which was actually still growing.
The Good News: ACEN Generated Way More Renewable Energy
Even with all those challenges, ACEN still managed to produce 7,009 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of renewable electricity in 2025 — that’s 24% more than the year before. To put that in perspective, one GWh can power roughly hundreds of homes for a year.
This growth in actual electricity generation came mainly from two new power plants that started operations:
- Stubbo Solar — a 520 MW solar farm in Australia
- Monsoon Wind — a wind farm in Lao PDR (Laos)
What’s Happening in Each Country?
🇵🇭 Philippines (ACEN’s Home Base)
Philippine renewable energy output grew slightly by 2% to 1,866 GWh. The Ilocos Norte wind farm repairs were mostly done by Q4 2025, helping recovery. But revenues from the Philippines still fell 7% to ₱36.0 billion because of those lower electricity spot market prices.
ACEN also runs a retail electricity business called ACEN RES (Renewable Energy Solutions), which sells green energy directly to consumers and businesses. It now has 482 MW of contracted capacity across 753 customers — and holds a 57% market share of the government’s Green Energy Option Program (GEOP). Recent new clients include San Beda College Alabang, Avida Towers Asten, and Eastwood Excelsior Condominium.
🇦🇺 Australia
Output surged 84% to 1,440 GWh, thanks to the massive Stubbo Solar farm coming online. Revenues grew 11% to ₱2.7 billion. However, EBITDA (a measure of operating profit) dipped 7% to ₱1.7 billion due to lower spot prices and higher costs. A 200 MW battery storage system (New England BESS) is currently being built and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2027.
🇮🇳 India
Output grew 7% to 769 GWh. Revenues climbed 12% to ₱1.5 billion. India is also where ACEN has a lot of projects under construction, including the 420 MW Tejorupa Solar, 399 MW Sheo 2 Hybrid, 389 MW Sheo 1 Hybrid, and 120 MW Bijapur Wind — all expected to be done between 2026 and 2027. In February 2026, ACEN gained full ownership of the ACEN-UPC Renewables joint venture (now called ACEN Renewables International or ACRI), adding over 1,059 MW of operating and under-construction capacity, plus nearly 7 GW of future projects in the pipeline.
🌏 Mekong Region (Vietnam & Lao PDR)
Output from this region rose 29% to 1,866 GWh, driven by the new Monsoon Wind farm in Laos and higher wind speeds overall. Revenues and EBITDA for this platform both grew 19%.
🌋 Other Markets (Indonesia/Geothermal)
ACEN’s geothermal assets (Salak and Darajat in Indonesia) grew output by 3%, delivering 1,068 GWh. A new 40 MW Salak Unit 7 expansion is 38% complete and expected to be operational by 2027.
How Is ACEN’s Financial Health?
As of end-2025, ACEN reported:
- Total assets: ₱361.8 billion (up 10% from end-2024)
- Cash reserves: ₱18.4 billion
- Net debt: ₱144.4 billion (up from the previous year)
- Net debt-to-equity ratio: 0.90 (was 0.69 the prior year)
The rising debt level reflects the fact that ACEN is spending heavily to build new renewable energy projects around the region — which is normal for a company in growth mode.
Sustainability Wins Worth Noting
Beyond finances, ACEN also achieved some notable milestones in 2025:
- Stubbo Solar in Australia became the world’s first large-scale renewable energy project certified for solar circularity by the Circular PV Alliance — meaning nearly a million solar panels are designed to be recycled at the end of their life.
- Alaminos Solar in Laguna completed a 3-year reforestation partnership under the government’s National Greening Program, supporting local farmers in tree-planting efforts.
- ACEN’s High Tech High Touch (HTHT) digital learning program in Zambales (run with Ayala Foundation) doubled average math scores among Grades 4 to 6 students within just 12 weeks.
What the Leaders Are Saying
ACEN President and CEO Eric Francia acknowledged the tough year but remained optimistic, saying the company will prioritize increasing contracted capacity and investing in energy storage while advancing its project pipeline.
CFO and Chief Strategy Officer Jonathan Back emphasized that despite softer financial results, ACEN continued growing its electricity generation. He said 2026 will be about disciplined execution — operating efficiently, maintaining a strong balance sheet, and delivering on construction projects.
Key Numbers at a Glance
| Metric | FY 2025 | Change vs FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Consolidated Net Income | ₱3.8 billion | -60% |
| Recurring Net Income | ₱6.3 billion | +4% |
| Core Attributable EBITDA | ₱22.5 billion | +17% |
| Statutory Revenues | ₱32.0 billion | -14% |
| RE Generation (Attributable) | 7,009 GWh | +24% |
| Total Assets | ₱361.8 billion | +10% |
| Net Debt | ₱144.4 billion | Higher |
Source: ACEN Corporation SEC Form 17-C and Press Release, filed March 9, 2026. All financial figures are as reported by ACEN Corporation.
