State-run Philippine Ports Authority said net income rose 20.5 percent in the first seven months from a year ago, boosted by robust domestic and international trade.
Latest data from PPA showed that net income reached P5.58 billion as of end July, higher than P4.63 billion registered a year earlier. The figure also exceeded by 45.6 percent the income target for the period of P3.83 billion.
“The sustained positive outcome in shipping and trade at the ports, resulting from the country’s upbeat economic and business atmosphere and heightened domestic demand, continue to spark progression in PPA’s operational and financial performance,” PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago said.
PPA said revenues increased 7.4 percent in the seven-month period to P8.68 billion from P8.07 billion a year ago. The amount was also higher by 5 percent than the target of P8.26 billion.
Revenues, however, were dragged by the low collection from lay-up fees that sank 77.5 percent and storage fees that slid 8.5 percent.
Remittances from port operators International Container Terminal Services Inc., Asian Terminals Inc. as well as cargo-handling fees and port dues contributed the bulk of the revenues, growing by 12.8 percent, 11.4 percent, 12 percent and 11.2 percent, respectively.
FMI, which is purely a passive income on investment in Treasury Bonds and other temporary/short-term investments placed with the state-owned agency’s depository banks, posted a 34.73-percent hike with a total of P60.75 million, from against last year’s figure of P45.09 million.
Total expenditures, covering both operating and non-operating expenses, amounted to P3.09 billion, down by almost 10 percent from the 2016 figure of P3.44 billion.
Operating expenses went down 9.9 percent to P3.03 billion, with dredging costs registering the biggest decline of 62.5 percent.
Non-operating expenses also dived 10.5 percent to P64.17 million from P71.71 million a year ago, on lower financial expenses, particularly interest expense on foreign loans.
The PPA revised its financial outlook for 2017 from flat to modest growth, as the surge in economic activities resulted in bigger cargo volume passing through the ports.