REVENUE of Philippine port operator Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) increased 4% to P3.98 billion in the first nine months of the year from P3.827 billion a year earlier, on the back of positive growth in international operations at the Manila South Harbor and in domestic operations at the Batangas port, the port operator said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
But a change in accounting policy hit the company’s net income, which fell 27.1% to P844.4 million for the first nine months, from P1.238 billion a year earlier. Without such a change, ATI’s income would have risen 0.9% or P11.5 million to P1.23 billion.
Of the total revenue, contribution from the South Harbor’s international operations rose 6.7% due to favorable unit rates. However, domestic operations revenue slumped 27.1% due to lower volumes.
Revenue from ATI’s Batangas operations improved 8.8% due to higher container volume and growth in roll-on roll-off vehicles and passengers.
The higher revenues were attributed to favorable unit rates in international operations at South Harbor and higher volume of domestic containers, passengers and roll-on/roll-off vehicles at the Batangas Port.
ATI said its long-term outlook remains positive as it gears up for greater growth ahead.
The company is continuously building up efficiency and capacity at its gateway Manila South Harbor in line with the industry’s expansion.
Early this month, ATI took delivery of two state-of-the-art rubber-tired-gantry cranes (RTGs) beefing up its container handling fleet.
More equipment are scheduled to arrive at South Harbor early next year. These include a high-capacity ship-to-shore crane, additional rubber-tired gantry RTGs, loaders, internal transfer vehicles and other operation critical port equipment.
ATI’s latest equipment acquisition is part of its initial P1.8 billion capital outlay this year for the port that includes the rehabilitation of Pier 3.
Works on the pier involve the extension of crane rails and the expanded back-up container storage areas within the pier, which will enable Manila South Harbor to accommodate more and bigger ships.
Photo courtesy of Asian Terminals, Inc
