Chelsea, Dito cut losses in Q1

MANILA, Philippines — Davao-based billionaire Dennis Uy slowed the bleeding of his shipping and telco ventures in the first quarter, with Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp. eyeing to profit in the near term.

Chelsea reduced its net loss by 22 percent to P324.04 million in the first quarter from P415.64 million a year ago, as earnings went up by a third on the recovery of shipping activities.

During the period, Chelsea grew its revenue to P1.71 billion, buoyed by the rise in passenger and freight income, outpacing the 18-percent rise in expenses to P1.44 billion.

Revenue from passage operations swelled by nearly thrice to P407 million, benefitting from the increase in ticket rates implemented to cover for rising fuel prices. Further, income from freight handling rose by nine percent to P883 million even as Chelsea faced issues in the availability of container ships and vans.

Chelsea chief financial officer Ignacia Braga IV said the firm would profit in the short term. Down the line, Chelsea plans to optimize the use of its resources to improve fleet availability, customer experience, operational excellence and technology advancements.

“As we continue to keep a close eye on our costs and grow our revenues in line with the recovery of the economy, we will shortly return to profitability, probably sooner than later,” Braga said.

Likewise, Dito CME Holdings Corp. brought down its net loss by 91 percent to P336.67 million in the first quarter from P3.67 billion a year ago.

The owner and operator of third telco player Dito Telecommunity Corp. pushed its revenue higher by 76 percent to P2.34 billion with the addition of new subscribers to its customer base.

As expected, Dito CME pursued cost-cutting measures to trim general, selling and administrative expenses to P2.4 billion. Expenses, however, rose by 14 percent to P5.37 billion given the investments that Dito CME has to make in its infrastructure network.

Likewise, Dito CME booked a foreign exchange gain of P4.23 billion from January to March, a reversal from last year’s forex loss of P2.87 billion. In 2022 firms struggled to contain their forex losses with the peso depreciating to as low as 59 to $1.

Dito plans to tighten its belt starting 2025 when it completes the delivery of public commitments to bring down expenses and stop its bleeding.