Listed firm Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI ) yesterday reported its net income went down by 31 percent in the first nine months of the year, but it registered better results during the third quarter as signs of trade recovery continue amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
ATI ’s revenues in the nine-month period reached P7.97 billion, while net income stood at P1.96 billion, declining by 21.6 percent and 31.1 percent, respectively, compared to a year ago due to lower container volumes owing to the negative economic impact of the COVID-19.
However, ATI reported its July to September income rose 14.8 percent to P812 million from P707 million during the same period in 2019.
Revenues for the quarter amounted to P2.92 billion, 6.7 percent lower than the P3.13 billion Signs of trade recovery lift ATI income posted in the third quarter of 2019.
“With the lifting of government restrictions and the calibrated opening up of the economy, we have seen an encouraging uptick in Philippine trade as reflected in the volumes we handled during the third quarter,” William Khoury, ATI executive vice president, said.
From July to September, ATI ’s international gateway ports in Manila and Batangas handled over 360,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TE U) in consolidated container volume, up 39 percent from the second quarter when volumes were heavily impacted by the trade slowdown and economic lockdowns locally and globally due to the pandemic.
ATI ’s third quarter volume translated to a monthly average of over 120,000 TE Us, bringing it closer to pre-pandemic levels.
“Despite the global pandemic, we are optimistic of finishing the year on a respectable note driven by our Company’s resilience as we continue fulfilling our important mandate of enabling trade in the Philippines,” Khoury said.
