Listed port operator Asian Terminals, Inc. (ATI) reported a net income of P649.6 million for the first three months of 2015, an 80.5% surge from P360 million posted in the same period last year.
Revenues in the first quarter reached P2.359 billion, up 23.7% from P1.908 billion in the same period in 2014.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, ATI said the positive performance was due to the higher international containerized volume in Batangas, where throughput was up 672.3% compared to last year, and to expanded volume of general cargo at Manila South Harbor, which posted traffic growth of 22.4%. The port operator also noted an increase of 17.7% in roll-on/roll-off units and the growth in the number of passengers at Batangas port by 8.7%.
Costs and expenses in the first quarter likewise went up 8.4% to P1.323 billion from P1.220 billion in the same period last year.
ATI, in an earlier press release, said it is investing a minimum of P2.8 billion in 2015, to be followed by a further P3.1 billion and P2.1 billion in 2016 and 2017, respectively, to continuously boost the capacity and efficiency of its port facilities.
Part of the 2015 capital expenditure has gone to the purchase of six empty-container handlers deployed last February and five additional rubber-tired gantry cranes that are set for delivery at Manila South Harbor by the middle of the year. ATI is also expanding its yard footprint at its Manila operation.
Moreover, ATI said it will continue its equipment build-up at Batangas Port, booking orders for additional quay cranes and RTGs.
In 2014, the Batangas Container Terminal handled over 98,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of international cargo, up by more than 750% compared with the previous year, and the port has sustained its strong upward push in the first quarter of 2015.
Batangas port gets calls three times a week from MCC Transport and SITC.
