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Asian Terminals reported a 19.1% increase in income and 5.5% growth in revenues for the first quarter of the year
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Cargo handled by ATI’s Manila and Batangas ports rose 5% in the first quarter
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ATI is spending around P6 billion this year to bankroll port expansion and modernization projects in Manila and Batangas ports and explore new growth opportunities
Asian Terminals Inc.’s (ATI) net income in the first quarter of 2021 hit P562.9 million, up 19.1% from last year’s P472.5 million.
The positive performance was attributed by the port operator to improved cargo volumes, continued cost-saving initiatives started during the second quarter of 2020 and implementation of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act, which reduced the income tax rate from 30% to 25%.
Revenue for the first quarter was also 5.5% higher at P2.72 billion from P2.58 billion year-over-year, ATI said in a regulatory disclosure.
Compared to the first three months of 2020, revenues from ATI’s international containerized cargo operations in Manila South Harbor and Batangas Container Terminal increased by 9.0% and 7.6%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2021, mainly on account of higher container volumes.
From January to March 2021, ATI’s international gateway ports in Manila and Batangas handled over 327,000 twenty-foot equivalent units in consolidated container volume, an increase of 5% from the same period last year.
ATI executive vice president William Khoury earlier said they expected volumes this year to be better than last year’s, but “the company does not expect volumes to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2022 or 2023.”
To sustain its operations, ATI is spending around P6 billion in capital investment this year to bankroll ongoing port expansion and modernization projects in Manila and Batangas ports and to explore new growth opportunities.
READ: ATI earmarks P6.9B for equipment, facility upgrades this year
These expenditures include the current upgrade of the Batangas Passenger Terminal and the ongoing yard expansion and extension of berth facilities at Pier 3 of Manila South Harbor.
Early this year, ATI took delivery of five brand-new rubber-tired gantry cranes, effectively increasing Manila South Harbor’s fleet by 22% to 28 units.
