Aboitiz Transport trims H1 losses

Listed shipping firm Aboitiz Transport Systems Corp. (ATS) trimmed its losses in the first half of the year.

In a disclosure, the country’s largest shipping company, now owned by Negros Navigation Co. Inc. (Nenaco), posted a net loss of P77.4 million, 49 percent down from its year-ago loss.

ATS registered P6.4 billion in revenue in the first half of 2011, a 5-percent decline over last year. This takes into account the performance of the Aboitiz Jebsen group (Abojeb), several companies owned by ATS but were not included in the Nenaco acquisition.

“With the exclusion of the Abojeb Group, however, total revenue actually increased by 12 percent,” ATS said.

The company said the net improvement in revenue was due to the full operation of its entire fleet since the start of the year.

Last year, several of the company’s vessels were “dry-docked” for maintenance.

ATS’ supply chain business, operating under the 2Go brand, continues to grow with revenue from the sale of goods posting a 28-percent increase due to the rise in the number of principals. “Although service fees (inclusive of Abojeb related fees) show a decline, the third party logistics business has grown by 30 percent,” it said.

In the meantime, total cost and expenses were down by 7 percent largely from lower overall operating and overhead expenses attributable to the loss of the Abojeb business.

Fuel costs, the company’s single largest expense, registered a 28-percent increase from year-ago brought about by higher fuel prices and volume.—Paolo G. Montecillo