PPA sees revenues rising 9% this year

State-run Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) expects revenues to rise nine percent this year from a year ago as it works to improve operations by reducing operational costs.

PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago said the agency’s revenues are seen to grow nine percent this year from the P13.29 billion generated last year.

“The intention is to make sure revenues improve… We will try to make sure we make our operations more efficient so operational costs are lowered to an acceptable level,” he said.

Latest available data showed PPA’s revenues reached P5.42 billion in the January to May period, down 1.8 percent from P5.52 billion in the same period in 2015.

Of the total revenues, operating revenues or those generated from government and private ports as well as from the head office accounted for the bulk or P5.38 billion as of end-May, two percent lower than the previous year’s P5.49 billion.

PPA attributed the decline to the low earnings derived from storage which fell 55 percent to P366.37 million in the five- month period from P805.62 million in the same period last year.

Fund management income (FMI), the other component of revenues generated from temporary or short-term investments placed through PPA’s depository banks such as Philippine Veterans Bank and Land Bank of the Philippines meanwhile, rose 1.9 percent to P36.54 million in the first five months from P35.87 million in the same period in 2015.

FMI grew as a result of the increase in volume of idle funds invested through special or high-yield savings deposits.

PPA’s revenues are also seen to get a boost from an anticipated uptick in volume of cargo to be handled this year.

Santiago sees cargo volume going up nine percent this year from the 228.83 million metric tons (MT) in 2015.

As of end- May, the total cargo throughput posted a 7.8 percent increase to 93.36 million MT this year from 86.64 million MT in the previous year.