ASIAN Terminals, Inc. (ATI) saw an 18% rise in net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company during the second quarter, boosted by record-high cargo volumes.
In a regulatory filing, ATI said its attributable net income reached P819.1 million during the three-month period ended June, higher than the P694.63 million it recorded during the same period a year ago.
This brought the port operator’s attributable net income during the first half of the year to P1.4 billion, an 18% jump from last year’s P1.185 billion.
Excluding the foreign exchange gains attributable to port concession rights, net income would have increased by 16% to P1.56 billion.
Second quarter revenues increased by 10% to P3.1 billion, bringing the first-half total 12% higher to P5.7 billion.
ATI attributed this to “higher international containerized cargoes handled by Manila South Harbor (MSH) and Batangas Container Terminal (BCT) as well as higher containers, domestic RoRo and passengers handled by Batangas Port, reflective of the resilience of the Philippine economy.”
In a separate statement on Monday, ATI said the Manila South Harbor was able to accommodate its highest volume over a six-month period this year, handling more than 560,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) foreign shipment.
“The feat was bannered by an all-time high single-month volume of nearly 105,000 TEUs in May, followed by over 103,000 TEUs in June, for a back-to-back 100,000-TEU performance,” it added.
The Batangas port also recorded 18% more in volume handled at 110,000 TEUs.
ATI said its expenses increased 12.3% in the first half to P2.36 billion, on a 10% increase in labor costs, 35% rise in equipment running costs, as well as an 11% jump in taxes and licences.
“Despite handling growing volumes, our international container ports in Manila and Batangas are performing at optimum production and utilization levels heading into the ‘ber’ months, the peak season for shipments,” the company’s executive vice president William Wassaf Khoury Abreau was quoted in the statement as saying.
The port operator said in May it is spending P8 billion in capital expenditure for 2018 to boost its business in the Manila and Batangas ports. Among its efforts are adding cargo storage spaces at the Manila South Harbor and a multilevel car storage facility and rubber-tired gantry cranes at the Batangas Port. — Denise A. Valdez
