LISTED port operator Asian Terminals, Inc. (ATI) said the execution of some of its expansion programs, with a budget of about $90 million, is being delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Due to the COVID-19 situation, we have reviewed our capex (capital expenditure) plan, and we are being responsible with our proposed expansion programs. Some of our programs have been delayed for a few months. Some of our major programs are continuing,” ATI Executive Vice-President William Khoury said during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Thursday.
“In terms of the total value of capex delayed, it’s about $90 million delayed until next year, 2021,” he added.
Mr. Khoury did not mention ATI’s capex guidance for 2020.
In 2019, the listed company increased its capex to around $300 million from the previous year’s approximately $152 million, as it intended to expand its ports in Manila and Batangas.
On the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the company’s financial performance this year, Mr. Khoury said: “For the first four months of 2020, ATI’s international container volume dropped by 26% compared to the previous year. In Manila, the volume went down 26%, while in Batangas it dropped by 28%.”
He also said that ATI “does not expect a significant recovery” in cargo throughput “for until at least August or September.”
ATI expects the full-year container volume to be around “20% to 30% below last year’s levels,” Mr. Khoury said, adding that the company’s financial performance this year “is not expected to be at par with last year’s.”
“We have incurred significant expenses related to addressing the COVID-19 situation in our workplace, as well as providing support to our nearby communities and our employees,” he said.
Still, the company’s cash flow “remains healthy,” he noted, adding that the company does not expect to borrow during this year.
“We expect our collection to remain strong for the remainder of the year,” he said.
ATI halved its profits in the first quarter as its ports saw lower container volumes when lockdown measures were imposed to help contain the coronavirus pandemic.
The listed company’s attributable net income slumped 68% to P472.16 million in the January to March period, as revenues dropped 29% to P2.58 billion.
Shares in ATI were unchanged at P16 each on Thursday. — Arjay L. Balinbin
