PPAP posts drop in 2020 revenue, but uptick in container volume
THE stock-listed Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP) posted a slight drop in revenue for the full year 2020 due to regional and global economic turmoil fuelled by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a filing to the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) late on December 9, the stateowned river port operator reported projected revenue of more than $28.863 million, marking a 4.6 per cent decrease over its actual revenue last year of $30.260 million.
It posted two per cent yearon-year growth in the volume of containers, but a 3.49 per cent year-on-year contraction in the number of cargo vessels handled at the port during the year.
It logged a 1.2 per cent fall in cargo and fuel oil throughput, a 68.26 per cent drop in passenger boats and a 69.86 per cent decrease in passengers.
It announced a projected net profit of $9.689 million, which represents a drop of more than eight per cent from its actual net profit last year of $10.547.
CSX vice-chairman Ha Jongweon told The Post that PPAP’s full-year performance results were yet another example of the devastating impact from
Covid-19, with most of its operations retreating significantly from last year’s levels.
But on the bright side, he said, the reported growth in the volume of containers demonstrates that some business and commercial activities are able to remain stable or move slightly into green territory amid a universal slump.
“We hope that the pandemic will end soon so businesses and companies will no longer suffer.
“On the other hand, I think that PPAP’s course of action in response to the spread of Covid-19 such as offering storage free of charge for companies that encounter delivery problems is a good supporting policy for local firms.
“[ This] helps them to survive and enables them to continue their operations during this hard time,” Ha said.
There are currently 13 listed firms in the Kingdom – seven stock-listed and six corporate bond-listed. The 13 companies have raised a combined $253 million, while the stock index increased more than 57 per cent last year over 2018, CSX data show.
In the first nine months of this year, two companies listed stocks and three listed bonds. The five firms have raised a combined $92 million.