ATI net income down 31% in 9 mos.

MANILA, Philippines — Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) registered lower net income in the nine months ending September as revenues fall on the back of lower container volumes resulting from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

ATI said net income during the nine-month period dropped by 31.1 percent year-on-year to P1.96 billion, while revenues declined 21.6 percent to P7.97 billion.

“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,” ATI executive vice president William Khoury said.

ATI, however, reported better results in the third quarter, saying that signs of trade recovery continued amid the global pandemic.

ATI said net income reached P812 million from July to September, up 14.8 percent from P707 million recorded during the same period in 2019.

But revenues for the quarter declined by 6.7 percent to P2.92 billion from the P3.13 billion in the third quarter of 2019.

ATI’s international gateway ports in Manila and Batangas handled over 360,000 teus (20-foot equivalent units) in consolidated container volume during the quarter, 39 percent higher than the second quarter where volumes were heavily impacted by trade slowdown and economic lockdowns locally and globally due to the pandemic.

ATI said its third quarter volume translated to a monthly average of over 120,000 teus, bringing it closer to pre-pandemic levels.

“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,” Khoury said.