SBMA seaport income surges to P130.21-M in 1st Qtr. | SubicNewsLink

14 April 2009

SBMA seaport income surges to P130.21-M in 1st Qtr.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has reported an income of P130.21 million for the Subic sea port in the first three months, topping the P67.21-million target for the first quarter by 193.7 percent and posting an all-time record for the agency.

Calling the unprecedented record “a silver lining amidst the global recession,” SBMA seaport officials said the January to March sea port income surged to record high as actual collections from various revenue sources all exceeded first quarter targets.

“This is really record-breaking for the Seaport Department,” said SBMA senior deputy administrator for operations Ferdinand Hernandez, whose office oversees the Subic sea port.

“Historically, Subic seaport’s highest first quarter income was recorded in 2005 when we collected P51.6 million. But this year, our March revenue alone was already more than P51 million,” Hernandez explained.

He added that with the January-March revenue, the SBMA Seaport has already accounted for 41.17 percent of the agency’s P316.29-million revenue target for the whole 2009.

Capt. Perfecto Pascual, manager of the SBMA Seaport Department, meanwhile pointed out that the total of P130.21 million does not include accounts receivables in the amount of P17.2 million.

“Theoretically, therefore, Seaport’s first quarter income is P147.41 million,” Pascual added.

According to Hernandez, two new accounts this year boosted Subic’s seaport revenue collections: rental from the Subic Bay International Terminal Corp., which operates phase 1 of Subic’s New Container Terminal (NCT-1), and the additional income on vessel lay-ups.

The SBITC rentals already accounted for P12 million in the first quarter, while the running income this year from idle vessels parked at Subic Bay has reached P23.68 million, he said.

Another factor that helped increase the seaport revenue was wharfage fee for petroleum products, fertilizer, and grains like soya and wheat, said Hernandez.

Pascual also said that even without the two new accounts, the SBMA Seaport Department would still have posted a first quarter income of P94.53 million — still the biggest record for the department ever since the creation of the SBMA in 1992.

He said that SBMA Seaport’s six revenue sources all contributed positively to the rising revenue, with actual collections of P48.8 million for vessel charges, or an increase of 263.8 percent over the first quarter target; P38.15 million (173.7 percent increase) for cargo charges; P9.18 million (277.8 percent increase) for processing fees; P13.13 million (125.8 percent increase) for SBMA shares in port-related services; P16.38 million (128..9 percent increase) for lease/rentals; and P4.46 million (1,687.5 percent increase) for other charges.

Comparative figures from the SBMA meanwhile showed that despite the global recession, the Subic sea port has completed 83.5 percent of its first quarter target for containerized cargo volume — or 6,041 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) out of the goal of 7,236 TEUs. This is broken down into 2,087 TEUs for January, 1,832 in February, and 2,122 in March.

Pascual said that to capture the much needed volume of cargo, the SBMA continues to strengthen its marketing efforts to entice shippers, importers, brokers and forwarders to use the Port of Subic.

Meanwhile, non-containerized cargo that passed through the Subic Bay Freeport in January-March reached a total of 679,153.16 metric tons, or 139.3 percent over the first quarter target of 487,698.81 metric tons.

In the same period, a total of 508 ship calls were made in Subic as more idle vessels were laid up in Subic Bay. This figure represented a 102.2 percent increase over the first quarter target of 497, SBMA data indicated. (SBMA Corporate Communications)

PHOTO: A cargo vessel unloads containers at the New Container Terminal-1 in the Subic Bay Freeport.

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