COCONUT EXPORTER Axelum Resources Corp. posted a 48.5% decline in its net income to P82 million for the second quarter due to higher operating costs resulting from the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, Thursday, the company said its revenues for the quarter fell 11.3% to P1.18 billion. The decline was caused by logistics concerns such as quarantine checkpoints that hampered the company’s access to coconut supply.
“Axelum was forced to fly in materials that could normally be sent by sea due to supply chain congestion, and with lower coconut volumes due to COVID-19-related operating restrictions, the plant operated less efficiently than it would in normal times,” it said.
For the first half of the year, Axelum said its net income fell 47% to P202.94 million against P385.76 million, while revenues fell 9% to P2.39 billion from P2.61 billion.
However, the company said that as the second quarter progressed, its coconut deliveries rose and are now nearing normal levels.
“Costs of primary input components (such as packaging materials) remained elevated, but the company expects this to abate as supply chains gradually stabilize,” the disclosure said.
Meanwhile, the company said it remains on course to reach its volume commitment of 25 million liters of coconut water for the year, while staying optimistic about its business prospects for the latter half of 2020.
Axelum President and Chief Operating Officer Henry J. Raperoga said that after the adjustments, he expects the company’s business performance to improve in the second half of the year and heading into 2021.
“We managed to sustain our profitability in the second quarter despite significant headwinds related to COVID-19, which highlights our company’s innate resilience and ability to quickly conform to the rigors of this new operating environment,” Mr. Raperoga said.
On Thursday, Axelum shares rose 0.85% or P0.02 to close at P2.37 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
