Asian Terminals Inc. raised its capital expenditures this year by 74 percent to expand the capacity of ports in Manila and Batangas.
The port operator owned by businessman Eusebio Tanco said the 2018 capex amounted to P8 billion from last year’s P4.6 billion.
“This will invest in the acquisition of more cargo handling equipment and various infrastructure projects at Manila South Harbor and Batangas Port, to further grow capacity, increase efficiency and enhance safety performance, in support of the growing Philippine economy,” ATI said
“As a forward-looking company, ATI looks for more business investment opportunities, including exploring new port operations locally or overseas,” it added.
The company earlier reported a net income of P2.5 billion last year, up 31 percent from P1.9 billion in 2016.
ATI’s revenues in 2017 rose 15 percent to P10.6 billion from P9.2 billion in 2016 on higher volumes of containerized cargoes and favorable cargo mix in the non-containerized segment.
Reflective of the robust growth of the Philippine economy in 2017, ATI’s international ports in Manila and Batangas handled a combined container cargo throughput of over 1.3 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units).
International boxed cargoes handled at Manila South Harbor in 2017 reached over 1.1 million TEUs, an increase of nearly 6 percent from 2016. The rapidly growing Batangas Container Terminal handled almost 200,000 TEUs, an increase of over 25 percent compared to the previous year.
BCT is supporting government’s drive for inclusive growth outside Metro Manila by opening up direct market connectivity and delivering competitive port services to shippers based in South Luzon.
ATI expects the delivery of two additional quay cranes, four more rubber-tired gantry cranes and other cargo handling equipment by 2018 in line with the company’s plan of doubling BCT’s capacity to over 600,000 TEUs.
