2GO swings to profit in Q1

MANILA, Philippines — Logistics carrier 2GO Group Inc. kept its recovery momentum going in the first quarter, booking a profit of P187 million on strong showings from the freight and travel segments.

In a regulatory filing, 2GO said that it posted a net income of P186.83 million in the first quarter, flipping the net loss of P34.9 million it incurred a year ago.

During the period, 2GO pushed its revenue up by 29 percent to P5.16 billion, with all its business segments benefitting from the recovery of logistics activities here and abroad.

For the shipping bracket, freight revenue jumped by 26 percent to P1.53 billion as travel income more than doubled to P483.29 million. On the other hand, logistics earnings rose by three percent to P1.71 billion, while sale of goods surged by 42 percent to P1.43 billion.

On the other hand, 2GO sustained a 25 percent spike in expenses to P4.58 billion. The firm said it had to make additional spending to support the rising demand for logistics services.

“The cost of services and goods sold increased by 25 percent year on year due to higher volumes across the business and higher fuel prices,” 2GO said.

“General and administrative expenses increased by eight percent from the additional headcount to support the business and IT investments to help drive scale and efficiencies,” it added.

For the rest of this year, 2GO will proceed with efforts to broaden its menu of logistics services, as well as optimize the business to minimize costs in the face of elevated inflation.

“For 2023, 2GO continues its corporate governance initiatives and aims to expand and to further enhance its service offerings to customers and stakeholders. 2GO plans to achieve this through a more streamlined operation and collaboration within its business units,” 2GO said.

“[2GO will also make] investment in warehousing and logistics information technology solutions for customers and in synergies and best practices. Management is confident that 2GO will further its growth and become an even stronger logistics solutions provider going forward,” it added.

In April, 2GO received approval to complete its delisting from the main board of the PSE after its parent, SM Investments Corp., moved to buy out all the minority shares in the logistics carrier.

Last year 2GO turned up a profit of P312 million to stop its pandemic bleeding, attributed to the recovery of logistics movement with the lifting of border restrictions.  #