Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp. (CLIHC) reported a 54% decline in net income for the first nine months of 2019 to P20 million from P43 million in the same period last year due to its share of losses in equity investments.
Revenues from deploying bigger ships are expected to be derived a year after full operation, CLIHC said in a regulatory disclosure.
Revenues for the first nine months of the year grew 40% to P5.2 billion from P3.7 billion in the same period in 2018, CLIHC said in a regulatory disclosure.
The logistics business contributed the highest revenue growth at 72% to P328 million from P191 million as a result of the group’s continued expansion program anchored on increasing its warehouse capacity and delivery fleet.
Construction of the 2.5-hectare warehouse complex located in Taguig City is proceeding as planned and the facility should be ready for commercial operations in 2020, CLIHC noted.
On the shipping services front, a 35% increase in revenue was recorded, reaching P4.62 billion and representing 90% of the total revenues of the group.
Tankering revenues (consisting of charter fees and standby charges) increased 27% to P1.538 billion from P1.211 billion, primarily from the operations of MT Chelsea Providence, the group’s medium-range tanker. In addition, utilization of the group’s other tankers also increased with the higher volume of petroleum products shipped for the period.
Similarly, revenues from the freight segment grew 34% to P1.692 billion from P1.260 billion while passage revenues rose 51% to P1.095 billion from P727 million.
The growth in the freight and passage revenues is attributed to the operations of the four brand-new vessels acquired from Japan that are plying routes in Batangas, Cebu and Cagayan de Oro. In addition, the rerouting of MV Starlite Archer and MV Starlite Saturn from short-haul trips to the longer Batangas-Caticlan and Batangas-Culasi via Sibuyan routes, respectively, also improved freight and passage revenues.
Tugboat revenues also increased 14% to P253 million from P222 million as a result of the recent expansion of the group’s tugboat operations in Cagayan de Oro.
“With the acquisition of brand new vessels, expansion of logistics assets and the recent takeover of Supercat, our commitment to strengthen Chelsea’s passage and freight portfolio and deliver value for our stakeholders in the years to come, is coming to fruition,” CLIHC president and chief executive officer Chryss Alfonsus V. Damuy said in a statement.
“We firmly believe that all of this foundational work will redound to the benefit of Chelsea, cementing its continuous progress towards a more reliable and sustainable company.”
CLIHC last October acquired SuperCat Fast Ferry Corporation from 2GO Group Inc. And since 2017, CLIHC has had a 28.15% indirect economic interest in 2GO.
Also in 2017, CLIHC acquired WorkLink Services, Inc. and Starlite Ferries, Inc. It likewise has two wholly owned subsidiaries, Chelsea Shipping Corp. and Trans-Asia Shipping Lines.