ATI Q3 earnings show signs of recovery

Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) saw lower earnings in the first nine months of the year as the business suffered during the lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 .

ATI, which operates major cargo facilities in Manila and Batangas province, said activity recovered in the third quarter as strict lockdown rules were eased.

“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,” ATI executive vice president William Khoury said in a statement.

From January to September, ATI saw net income fall 31 percent to P1.96 billion while revenues hit P7.97 billion, down 21.6 percent.

ATI said this was due to “lower container volumes resulting from the negative economic impact of COVID-19.”

But third-quarter figures pointed to signs of recovery.

It said July to September profit rose 14.8 percent to P812 million. Revenues were lower by 6.7 percent to P2.92 billion.

ATI said port operations in Batangas and Manila handled over 360,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in consolidated container volume, up 39 percent.

ATI’s third quarter volume translated to a monthly average of over 120,000 TEU, bringing it closer to prepandemic 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. INQ