WASHINGTON: The government’s income from port operations grew by around 16% in the first nine months of 2016, on higher revenue from cargo-related fees and lower expenses, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said. PPA’s net income rose by 16.11% to P5.99 billion in the January to September period. PPA General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago said net income grew as all its revenue streams posted significant increases coupled with a modest decline in total expenses and despite a continuing drop in storage fees due to the introduction of the terminal truck appointment and booking system (TABS) early this year.
“The decrease in storage fee of about 39.56% brought about by the implementation of several anti-port congestion measures has been offset in the other revenue items as operations became more efficient and effective due to these measures, specifically TABS that hastened the movement of inbound and outbound containers at the Manila Ports,” Mr. Santiago said.
The modest increase in the Fund Management income of about 6% to P68 million due to the hike in interest rates for special/high-yield savings deposits has also contributed to the strong revenue performance of the agency, he added. PPA said in its statement that gross revenue rose 8% to P10.62 billion for the period in review. Port revenue hit P10.55 billion from P9.78 billion a year earlier. Total expenses, meanwhile, decreased by 1.13% to P4.63 billion in the first nine months because of a gradual disbursement policy in the implementation of repair and maintenance projects complemented by the decrease in depreciation charges.
Operating expenses declined 2.56% to P4.49 billion. Non-operating expense, however increased by 81% to P145.02 million, PPA said. PPA earlier said it allocated P6 billion for capital expenditure to finance the expansion of major seaports nationwide, the bulk of which will be spent for the expansion of the ports in Iloilo, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga. In a related development, PPA said combined yard utilization at the two Manila ports is at 65% or approximately 52,900 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) while yard productivity remains high, ranging from 20-30 moves an hour.
The efficient yard management for both terminals is attributed mainly to the truck TABS imposed recently that raised port efficiency by at least 96%. Prior to the TABS, PPA said the average daily gate-outs at the Manila ports was 4,500 to 5,000 TEUs as compared to the post-TABS level of 7,000 to 7,500 TEUs. The recent decision of the Metro Manila Mayors, through the Inter-Agency Council on Traffic, to impose a no-window ban hours for private vehicles, is also expected to further ease the withdrawal and deposit of containers from and to the Manila Ports particularly Christmas cargoes this season.
