Chelsea earnings down 15% in H1

MANILA, Philippines — Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp. (Chelsea), the listed shipping and logistics arm of Dennis Uy’s Udenna Group, posted a net income of P308 million in the first half, down 14.7 percent year-on-year.

However, revenue grew by 28 percent to P3.5 billion.

“While our net income in the first half of 2019 dropped…we are optimistic that these numbers will only improve — first with the turn-around in the 2Go net income which registered a positive second quarter from the first quarter net loss; and second, the group’s expansion programs which include the addition of new and younger vessels will further bolster our financial performance,” Chelsea president & chief executive officer Chryss Alfonsus Damuy said yesterday.

He is pleased  to see each business segment showing robust growth.

“The second half of 2019 also witnessed our team’s hardwork in closing strategic partnerships with world-class companies such as Kumiai Senpaku Co. Ltd., one of the biggest independent Japanese ship owners, and Fukuoka Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., a renowned Japanese shipbuilder.  Our shipbuilding agreements with Kumiai and Fukuoka, which are in addition to our existing partnership with Kegoya Dockyard Inc.,  will result in the delivery of two brand-new passenger ferries in April 2020 and June 2021 respectively,” he said.

Chelsea’s logistics business recorded the biggest growth of 75 percent to P223 million, accounting for seven percent of the total consolidated revenue on the back of the continued expansion program of increasing its warehouse capacity and trucking fleet.

The shipping services, which generated 90 percent of the total revenues, reported a 26 percent growth in revenue to P3.27 billion.

Tankering revenue also grew to P1.2 billion, while revenue from the freight segment rose 21 percent to P1 billion.

Passage revenue, meanwhile, grew 34 percent to P733 million.

“The growth in the freight and passage revenues is  attributable to the operations of MV Stella Del Mar, MV Salve Regina and MV Trans-Asia 19, which are plying the routes of Roxas-Caticlan, Batangas-Caticlan and Cebu-Tagbilaran-Cagayan de Oro routes, respectively,” Chelsea said.

Tugboat revenue, on the other hand, slightly declined nine percent  to P163 million as a result of timing of the drydocking of the group’s tugboats operating in Batangas and Davao.