ATI’s H1 income up 16.8% on strong int’l cargo volume

August 14, 2017

The growth of international containerized cargoes in line with the growth pace of the Philippine economy boosted the first semester results of listed AsianTerminals Inc. (ATI).

In a disclosure to the local bourse, ATI reported a net income of Php1.19 billion for the first six months of the year, behind the robust international container volume handled by its Manila South Harbor and Batangas Port. This figure is up 16.8% from Php1.02 billion a year earlier.

ATI’s total revenues for the period stood at Php5.07 billion, 15.3% higher than Php4.40 billion during the first half of 2016.

From January to June, Manila South Harbor handled just short of 550,000 teus (twentyfoot equivalent units), sustaining its strong performance coming off a record-breaking year in 2016 where for the first time it handled over one million teus.

Batangas Container Terminal (BCT) has stepped up its role as trade facilitator in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), offering competitive market connectivity to major shippers and effectively decongesting Manila’sroads.

BCT handled over 93,000 teus by mid-year, keeping it on pace of exceeding its 2016 record volume of nearly 160,000 teus.

Despite handling growing volumes, “our international container ports in Manila and Batangas are performing at optimum production and utilization levels heading into the ‘ber’ months, the peak season for shipments,” ATI executive vice president Andrew Hoad, said.

“We have capacity for future volume growth,” Hoad added.

As of end-July, quay crane production at BCT stood at 31 gross moves per crane perhour (GMPH) while yard utilization remained below 50%, demonstrating its capacity to handle more ships and cargoes.

At Manila South Harbor, crane production has hit 30 GMPH, while yard utilization remains at an optimum 70%.

GMPH is a measure of efficiency indicating how fast a quay crane moves containers from ship to shore in an hour which redounds to faster vessel turnaround time and quicker delivery of cargoes to consignees.