As the pandemic stunted economic growth and container volumes correspondingly declined, Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI)’s revenues plunged 21.6 percent to P7.97 billion while net income plummeted 31.1 percent to P1.96 billion in the first nine months of 2020.
However, “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,” says ATI executive vice president William Khoury.
In the wake of trade recovery amidst the pandemic, ATI reported a 14.8 percent increase in its July to September income of P812 million, versus the same period in 2019.
However, revenues for the quarter still declined 6.7 percent to P2.92 billion.
From July to September, 2020, ATI’s international gateway ports in Manila and Batangas handled over 360,000 teus (twenty-foot equivalent units) in consolidated container volume.
This was 39 percent higher than the second quarter where trade slowdown and economic lockdowns locally and globally due to the pandemic affected volumes.
ATI’s third quarter volume translated to a monthly average of over 120,000 teus, bringing it closer to pre-pandemic levels.
“Despite the global pandemic, we are optimistic of finishing the year on a respectable note driven by our company’s resilience,” Khoury concluded.