Cost cutting pushes up PPA profit by 8%
Published Jul 23, 2023 12:39 am
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), an agency responsible for the planning and development of the country's seaports, posted a sustained profit in the first half of the year, surpassing its target, due to effective cost-cutting measures.
PPA General Manager Jay Satiago said the agency recorded earnings of P6.19 billion from January to June this year, reflecting a 23 percent growth compared to the P5.02 billion earned in the same period last year.
Santiago also said the end-June figure exceeded the PPA's target for the period by eight percent.
He said that through sound fiscal management and responsible utilization of financial resources, the PPA achieved increased income and revenue while simultaneously reducing expenditure.
The agency's service and business Income rose 13.94 percent to P630.21 million while its regulatory income grew 8.04 percent to P393.58 million. Overall, PPA's total revenue in the first six months grew 10.83 percent, or P1.02 billion, totaling P10.46 billion by end of last month. At the same time, PPA cut down its total expenses by 3.23 percent or P142.52 million versus the same period in 2022. Cash expenses decreased 24.63 percent to P657.26 million, due to lower administration costs and financial expenses for 2023. "This is a great start for PPA this year because we implemented the reduction of representation expenses, as well as fuel costs due to the rationalization of the use of service vehicles, among others,” Santiago said. Already, the agency's budget utilization improved to 83 percent in 2022, a dramatic increase from its 71 percent budget utilization in 2021 and 62 percent in 2020. PPA registered a more or less 12 percent increase in budget utilization every year since it posted a utilization rate of 52 percent in 2015. This showed marked improvements in the agency's project implementation over the past 6 years. In fact during the first year if the new administration, the PPA completed 30 seaport projects, he pointed out. "We intend to finish an additional 19 projects before the end of 2023," GM Santiago pledged. So far, the PPA’s strong and steady financial performance has placed the agency in the roster of top Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporation performers over the past 6 years.
The agency's service and business Income rose 13.94 percent to P630.21 million while its regulatory income grew 8.04 percent to P393.58 million. Overall, PPA's total revenue in the first six months grew 10.83 percent, or P1.02 billion, totaling P10.46 billion by end of last month. At the same time, PPA cut down its total expenses by 3.23 percent or P142.52 million versus the same period in 2022. Cash expenses decreased 24.63 percent to P657.26 million, due to lower administration costs and financial expenses for 2023. "This is a great start for PPA this year because we implemented the reduction of representation expenses, as well as fuel costs due to the rationalization of the use of service vehicles, among others,” Santiago said. Already, the agency's budget utilization improved to 83 percent in 2022, a dramatic increase from its 71 percent budget utilization in 2021 and 62 percent in 2020. PPA registered a more or less 12 percent increase in budget utilization every year since it posted a utilization rate of 52 percent in 2015. This showed marked improvements in the agency's project implementation over the past 6 years. In fact during the first year if the new administration, the PPA completed 30 seaport projects, he pointed out. "We intend to finish an additional 19 projects before the end of 2023," GM Santiago pledged. So far, the PPA’s strong and steady financial performance has placed the agency in the roster of top Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporation performers over the past 6 years.