Listed Philippine company Harbor Star Shipping Services, Inc. said net revenue for 2013 increased 11.3% to P898.7 million following growth in its lighterage business, but net profit dropped 26.8% to P108.482 million on increased operating costs and the absence of salvaging revenue last year.
The maritime services provider said in a disclosure to the Philippine stock Exchange that with its increased business activity, cost of services for the year ended Dec. 31, 2013 grew 38.6% to P577.2 million from P416.4 million in 2012.
This was the first time Harbor Star reported its annual earnings as a listed company; it listed its shares on the main board in October 2013.
In 2012, income reached P148.287 million from net revenues of P807.264 million.
The increased costs resulted from higher variable expenses such as contracted services, fuel and power consumption, among others, the company said.
Harbor Star cited the rise in fuel prices, government-mandated and contracted salary rate hikes, and the strengthening of emerging market currencies such as the peso against the US dollar as reasons for the increase in cost of services.
The company attributed its revenue growth primarily to its lighterage services, which recorded a 148% surge in revenue to P120.583 million from P48.615 million in the previous year.
Harbor Star noted it was only able to reflect full-year revenue in 2013 as it began offering lighterage services in May 2012.
Harbor assistance, the company’s biggest revenue contributor, registered a 3.2% increase in revenue to P728.116 million in 2013 from P705.387 million previously.
The company noted that the slight increase in volume of assists in ports that it services explains the slower growth in harbor assistance despite the addition of new vessels.
Revenue from towing services likewise soared 313.5% to P20.935 million from P5.063 million in the previous year due to additional towing projects that Harbor Star undertook in the latter part of 2013 after adding new tugboats.
Other services, which pertain to revenue related to charter hire, underwater marine, and ancillary services, also rose 9.3% to P8.1 million from P7.4 million in the previous year.
All these improvements, however, were offset by a 48.6% dive in revenue from salvage services to P21 million from P40.8 million in 2012.
There were no salvage operations undertaken by Harbor Star in 2013 as opposed to the salvage of the barge Wantas VII in 2012 and four successful salvage projects in 2011.
The 2013 salvage income only pertains to the recognition of additional income from the Wantas VII salvage project.
Harbor Star acquired additional vessels in 2013, namely, Adara, Atria, Procyon and Rho Cas.
The company budgeted a capital expenditure of about P200 million for the acquisition of tugboats and refleeting, an LCT barge for lighterage and the opening of new offices locally and abroad.
As of December 2013, Harbor Star had been servicing approximately 66 ports within the Philippines, of which 12 were the following base or hub ports: Manila International Container Terminal, Mauban and Sariaya, Quezon, Cagayan de Oro, Surigao, Bohol, Bataan, Batangas, Davao, Semirara, Leyte, and Palawan.
Harbor Star manages a fleet of 34 internationally and locally classed vessels. ––Roumina M. Pablo
Photo from www.harborstar.com.ph
