Aboitiz Transport loses P92.7M in first 9 months

Hobbled by higher operating expenses and depreciation charges, inter-island shipping company Aboitiz Transport System Corp. (ATSC) incurred a net loss of P92.7 million in the first nine months of the year, a reversal from the P294.8-million profit in the same period a year ago.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, ATSC said revenues reached P6.3 billion while costs and expenses amounted to P6.1 billion, up seven percent from the previous level, mainly due to the 19-percent rise in depreciation of ships.

Total depreciation of ships and improvements amounted to P699 million for the nine months ending Sept. 30, an increase of 19 percent from the same period last year.

ATSC also attributed the increase in costs to the 13- percent jump in terminal expenses and six-percent rise in operating expenses as fuel prices escalate.

ATSC said it is currently working on several initiatives to continuously bring costs down.

As of end-September this year, ATSC’s consolidated assets stood at P9.2 billion while total liabilities reached P5.1 billion. Total bank debt is approximately P2.6 billion with no additional borrowings made during the period.

Stockholders’ equity, on the other hand, stood at P4.1 billion. Cash generated from operations amounted to P1.1 billion.

ATSC recently raised its capital to P4.07 billion from only P2.45 billion.

The Aboitiz Group consolidated all its transport and logistics businesses under ATSC as part of efforts to enhance operational and funding efficiencies.

Among the companies under ATSC are Aboitiz One Inc., Aboitiz Jebsen Bulk Transport Corp., Aboitiz Jebsen Manpower Solutions Inc., Jebsen Maritime Inc., and Jebsen Management Ltd.

ATSC reported a 13-percent drop in its 2004 net income to P310.5 million, mainly due to higher interest expenses. Revenues, however, rose seven percent to P8.2 billion from only P7.7 billion.

ATSC presently enjoys more than 20 percent of the total market share for the passage business and about 40 percent of the freight.