DESPITE suffering massive losses due to skyrocketing fuel prices, Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) president and chief executive officer Jon Ramon Aboitiz said the company has no plans to reduce the number of ports being serviced by Aboitiz Transport System (ATS)’s 2Go Road Ro-Ro Terminal System (RRTS). AEV is the mother company of ATS. Aboitiz said he sees no reason to reduce the 21 ports in Mindanao and Visayas currently being serviced by 2Go RRTS as the logistics unit is doing well. 2GO RRTS handled 14,000 TEUs last year. Officials are predicting a 30% volume growth for 2006, the bulk of which will come from the Manila-Mindanao-Manila market. 2GO-RRTS is even studying the viability of some routes in the South which it plans to connect to Manila such as General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao in Mindanao, and Cebu. In these routes, it plans to ship fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, tuna and other processed fish and poultry products. ATS, operator of 2GO and SuperFerry, the country’s largest shipping line, posted consolidated revenue of P2.5 billion for the first quarter, a 12% decrease compared to last year’s figure. The company attributed the decrease to less international charter business from its subsidiary company, Jebsen Management (BVI) Ltd. Jebsen suffered from unfavorable market conditions, including capacity reduction and rising fuel costs, resulting in lower volumes. The reduction contributed to the company’s net loss registered at P192.4 million. In spite of rising fuel prices, at 34% higher versus the same period last year, the company managed to lower its total costs and expenses by 8% from close to P3 billion in the first quarter 2005 to P2.7 billion in 2006.
