Chealsea Logistics trims Jan-Sept losses

Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp. is hoping to swing to profitability soon after trimming its losses in the nine-month period ended September with the further reopening of the economy.

The listed logistics company, in a disclosure on Monday, reported that its January-September net losses amounted to P1.49 billion, lower than the P2.2 billion it incurred in the same period last year.

Third quarter net losses also went down to P489.14 million from last year’s P1.13 billion.

“As by nature, the shipping industry is a high capex business, fixed costs account for a huge portion of operating costs. Thus, with the continued significant growth in revenue, the company will soon outpace these costs,” Chelsea president and CEO Chryss Alfonsus Damuy said in a statement.

Consolidated revenue for the nine-month period climbed by 41 percent to P4.63 billion due to higher goods and passenger volume for the period.

Passage revenues were up more than sixfold to P887 million while passage-related sales of goods nearly doubled to P89 million for the period.

Freight revenues climbed by 20 percent to P2.44 billion. Logistics segment’s topline figures, meanwhile, improved by 23 percent to P402 million because of the “upturn in revenues of its warehousing, distribution and trucking segments and from e-commerce.”

Increase in vessel movements, especially in its Davao operations, lifted its tugboat service revenues by about 28 percent to P305 million for the period.

Cost of sales and services climbed by almost 20 percent to P4.28 billion for the period from P3.59 billion a year ago. Other operating costs, meanwhile, surged by 69 percent to P849 million.

“We will continue to build on this positive momentum to bring all our revenue segments back to pre-lockdown levels as soon as possible,” Damuy said.

“It has not been easy since the lockdown, but with the support of our creditors, suppliersand other stakeholders who have stayed with us through these difficult times, we can execute our recovery plans, bringing in sustained improvements in the Group’s financial performance,” Chelsea chief financial officer Ignacia Braga IV added.

In August, Chelsea launched a QR (quick response) code that passengers of its shipping lines Starlite Ferries Inc., SuperCat Fast Ferry Corp. and Trans-Asia Shipping Lines can scan to be able to book a ride.