Logistics firm reports 17% 9-mo profit growth

Logistics giant LBC Express Holdings Inc. said its profit jumped in the first nine months of the year on the back of strong volume from its courier services.

LBC Express said in a stock exchange filing yesterday that net income from January to September this year hit P733.8 million, up 17 percent from the level in the same period last year.
Service revenue rose 16.3 percent to P7.4 billion.

LBC Express said the gains came mainly from its logistics segment revenue, up 21 percent to P6.6 billion. This was largely on the “growth in volume of air cargo, sea cargo and courier services rendered.”

“The growth in volume of services was mainly attributable to the horizontal growth of the company, evidenced by the net addition of 70 branches in the Philippines,” LBC Express said.

“This growth also resulted in an increment in the company’s volume from cargo forwarding services and new clients acquired during the period,” it added.

Operating expenses rose 12 percent to P1.6 billion during the nine month period while cost of services went up 20 percent to P4.89 billion.

In October, LBC Express said it was in talks with potential foreign strategic partners. The goal, according to its president and CEO Miguel Camahort, was to help expand its market, gain access to new technologies and means of innovation.

LBC, which traces its roots to the post-World War II era, is a major player in a fragmented logistics sector.

It occupies a leading position in an industry that has been consolidating with the help of conglomerates. Big groups like Ayala Corp., SM Investments Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. are recognizing the value that logistics play in an archipelago like the Philippines.