ATI income plunges 22% to P81M in first quarter

Port and logistics operator Asian Terminals Inc. reported a 22-percent drop in its first quarter income this year to P81 million due to lower revenues.

In a statement issued over the weekend, ATI said consolidated revenues declined by 1.9 percent to P882 million from P899 million last year.

ATI reported a total throughput of 160,651 twenty equivalent units (TEUs), 2.8 percent higher than the 156,133 TEUs handled the previous level.

At the South Harbor, container volumes rose 2.6 percent to 157,525 TEUs and by 20.6 percent to 3,126 TEUs at the Port of Batangas.

ATI said the slowdown in construction projects, however, pinned down importations of raw materials particularly steel, the prime commodity handled at the South Harbor General Stevedoring Terminal.

At the Mariveles Grain Terminal, volumes handled during the quarter fell by 9.5 percent to 1.46 million metric tons. This was due to higher costs of importation brought about by the continued devaluation of the peso vis-à-vis the dollar.

During the period under review, the company spent P140 million for the continued improvement of equipment and infrastructure. Last March, ATI secured a P500 million loan facility from the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC).

ATI expects to perform better for the rest of the year as the overall business environment is expected to improve after the elections.

Expected to contribute substantially to ATI’s revenues in the second half is the Eva Macapagal Super Terminal, the country’s most modern passenger terminal located at the South Harbor, which will achieve full operations in June 2004.

ATI is the sole operator of South Harbor and renders cargo handling services for the country’s import and export cargoes. South Harbor is the country’s largest port of 85 hectares of land and 600 hectares of total anchorage area.