SBMA records P3.47-Billion operating revenue

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) registered a revenue of P3.47 billion last year, capping the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic with an 8% growth in income and other major accomplishments in key performance areas.

In her 2021 annual report to President Duterte, SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said that “while a few indicators remain impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, the general trend is upward where the SBMA was able to accelerate growth and surpass its performance in the previous year.”

Foremost among the top performances Eisma told the President about was the operating revenue of the agency, which stood at P3.47 billion for the period ending December 2021. This was P270M or 8% higher compared to revenue in the same period in 2020, she added.

Eisma pointed out that most of the SBMA revenue came from leases and port operations, with land and building leases growing by 2% and contributing P1.38 billion, and seaport operations growing by 14% and generating P1.37 billion.

She also reported that the agency’s regulatory income increased by 11% and provided P408 million in revenue, while airport operations grew by 26% and contributed P79 million.

The SBMA chief likewise provided positive reports in investment and employment generation, tourism, imports and exports.

She said the SBMA recorded a total of 142,177 Subic Bay Freeport workers as of December 31, showing an employment increase of 2.31% from 138,966 workers in 2020. SBFZ business locators, meanwhile, numbered 1,737 SBFZ as of December 31, “continuing a slight upward trend since 2019,” Eisma said.

She added that new investments, including expansions, totaled P17.29 billion, higher than the 2020 record by P15.74 billion, or 1,011%. The 2021 record even topped the pre-pandemic 2019 level by P8.05 billion, or 87%, with the bulk comprised by a P15-billion commitment from a business locator, which proposed to develop the SBFZ marshalling yard.

Meanwhile, Eisma said that the pandemic-hit tourism industry in Subic “is recovering and has recorded a total of 7.3 million same-day visitors in 2021.” This was also higher than the 2020 record by 2.18 million or 42%, but still lower than the 2019 record by 2.2 million or 23%.

In terms of trade, Eisma said the Subic Bay Freeport “defied the negative impact of the pandemic by recording a total of US$1.58 billion import value in 2021, which was 49.53% higher than the 2020 import value of US$1.12 billion.”

On the other hand, Subic’s export value reached a total of US$1.37 billion, which was 32.42% higher than the 2020 export value of US$1.03 billion. Both import and export values respectively exceeded the 2019 pre-pandemic records by 8.12% and 6.73%, Eisma added.

At the same time, Chairman Eisma reported to President Duterte that the Subic Bay International Airport, which was tapped by the Department of Transportation last year to accommodate “Bayanihan” flights has recorded a total of 53 flights as of December 31, bringing home a total of 14,312 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and returning overseas Filipinos, and generating P3.17 million in direct revenues for the SBMA.

Eisma likewise reported that the SBMA’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout, which was a joint project with the Department of Health, has resulted in the administration of 22,251 vaccine doses as of the end of 2021.

Eisma assured the President that the SBMA “is doing its best to be more competitive and maintain a business-friendly environment in the Freeport, as we continue to support all the programs of the government to ensure the well-being and safety of everyone in the Subic Bay Freeport.” (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA earns P65.73M from crew-change program

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has generated a total of P65.73 million in income from participating in the government’s crew-change program that facilitated the safe and speedy travel of Filipino and foreign seafarers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the additional revenue was realized after 16 months of processing seafarers following the designation of the Subic Bay Freeport as a crew-change hub in September 2020.

The total income came from the P14.64 million that was earned from September to December 2020, and the P51.09 million that was collected in the 12 months last year.

Eisma pointed out this did not include income earned by local hotels and other tourism-related businesses that provided quarantine rooms and other services for the disembarked seamen.

“The P65.7-million income is an additional windfall that SBMA earned by banking on Subic’s strict enforcement of health safety protocols,” Eisma noted.

“And it was realized after Subic took the opportunity—despite initial disapproval by some neighboring LGUs—to provide much-needed service at a time when only a few ports wanted to take in seafarers because of the virus threat,” she added.

Eisma said that the SBMA decided favorably on the crew-change project because it would not only bring crewmen home to their families, but would also help unlock congestion in ports and reboot the global supply chain that has been heavily impacted by the pandemic.

According to the SBMA Seaport Department, a total of 254 crew-change operations were undertaken in Subic in the 16 months since September 2020. These involved 62 vessels in 2020 and 192 ships in 2021.

On the average, around 12 to 15 ships arrive in Subic each month for crew change, said Seaport general manager Jerome Martinez. But on busy times as many as 25 ships could call in Subic in a month, as they did in June last year, or even 33 as they did last November.

The ships arrive either to take in new on-signers to refresh the crew, or disembark off-signers who must go on vacation or visit their families.

Martinez said that in the last 16 months, the port of Subic was able to process a total of 2,001 on-signers, of which 1,931 were Filipinos and 70 were foreigners of various nationalities.

At the same time, a total of 1,927 off-signers came onshore through Subic. These included 1,743 Filipinos and 184 foreigners, Martinez said.

The seafarers arrived in all kinds of ships like the MT Dapeng Star, a liquified natural gas tanker which was the first vessel to call in Subic under the crew-change program; MV Mindoro, a Panama-flagged vehicles carrier; MT Jason, a chemical tanker from Marshall Islands; MT Euro Integrity, a Liberian-flagged crude oil tanker; MV Nine Eagle, a Panama-flagged livestock carrier; and CS Cable Retriever, a dredging and cable-laying ship based in Singapore.

Aside from Subic and the Manila South Harbor, the other designated crew-change hubs in the country are in the port of Batangas, Port of Cebu, Port Capinpin in Orion, Bataan and Port of Sasa in Davao.

Under the crew change program, disembarking seafarers have to quarantine in facilities designated under the One Stop Shop (OSS) for Seafarers until testing negative in RT-PCR Covid-19 test which is taken on the sixth day after arrival. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA posts P997-M seaport income

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) recorded more than P997 million in sea port income in the first nine months of this year, as containerized cargo trade in this free port continued to grow with the gradual reopening of the global economy.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the SBMA Seaport Department recorded a 15 percent increase in revenues in January to September 2021 compared to the P863.7-million earnings posted in the same period in 2020.

“The increase in container traffic definitely carried the day for Subic because it also helped us realize increases in processing fees, SBMA shares from the operation of the container terminal, as well as leases,” Eisma said.

“The positive figures in these revenue sources had offset decreases in other areas like non-containerized cargo, which has markedly fell since the Covid-19 pandemic,” she added.

Eisma said the SBMA further expects container traffic—and Subic port revenue—to grow this year, as third quarter figures placed container cargo volume at 69,355 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) compared to 62,103 in the second quarter.

“The 12 percent increase in containerized cargo volume corresponded to an 11 percent increase in our port revenue, which grew from P317.2 million in the second quarter to P351.9 million in the third quarter. And so far, this upward trend continues,” she added.

According to a report from the SBMA Operations Group, the biggest income earner for Subic seaport was the agency’s share from container terminal operations, which yielded P302.3 million in January to September this year.

The container terminal operation was buoyed by a 32 percent increase in exports, from 24,951 TEUs in January-September 2020 to 32,891 TEUs this year, and a 16 percent rise in imports that grew from 77,663 TEUs last year to 90,019 TEUs this year.

The next biggest income sources for the SBMA sea port are lease rentals, which brought in P252 million, cargo charges with P248.1 million, and vessel charges with P126.1 million.

SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator for Operations Ronnie Yambao said the SBMA shares registered a 46 percent growth over the January-September 2020 record because of increased cargo handling fees, hauling and variable fees, even as a slight dip of 0.4 percent was noted in foreign container vessel ship calls in the same period.

Processing fees, cargo charges and lease rentals, meanwhile showed respective increases of 11 percent, 3 percent and 11 percent, Yambao added.

Yambao also pointed out that while total non-containerized cargo volume decreased by 10 percent in the same period, or from 5.39 million metric tons (MTs) in the first three quarters of 2020 to 4.86 million MTs in the same period this year, the liquid bulk petroleum sector defied the downtrend with an 18 percent increase, or from 1.84 million MTs to 2.17 million MTs this year.

Meanwhile, the SBMA Trade Facilitation and Compliance Department (TFCD), which handles import and export transactions in the Subic Bay Freeport, reported that its revenue grew from P83.66 million in the first three quarters of 2020 to P104.22 million in 2021.

TFCD manager Anna Joy Quito attributed the 25 percent increase to the increase in import-export fees and admission fees brought about by the gradual reopening of the economy.

TFCD records showed a 67 percent increase in Subic export transactions, from $630 million in 2020 to $1.05 billion in 2021, and a 52 percent rise in importations, from $815.9 million in 2020 to $1.24 billion in 2021. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA posts P1.66-B midyear revenue, other positive measures

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) posted positive records in most of its key performance indicators this year, including a P1.66-billion operating revenue that surpassed last year’s first half profits by 8.62%.

In a report to the Office of the President, SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the Subic agency “capped its 2021 first semester performance with major accomplishments in its key measures” even when a few areas remain impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and recorded actual decline.

“The general trend is upward where the SBMA was able to accelerate growth and surpass its performances in the previous year,” Eisma added in her report dated July 15.

Among the measures showing positive growth from January to July 2021 were operating revenue, port operations, employment, business registration, and import and export performance. Only tourism income, non-containerized cargo volume, and committed investments have yet to pick up, Eisma said.

For starters, SBMA’s operating revenue increased from P1.53 billion in the first six months of 2020 to P1.66 billion in the same period this year. Eisma said that while this was still short by P226 million, or 11.96%, when compared to the pre-pandemic record of P1.88 billion in 2019, “it still shows how fast Subic is able to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 health crisis and the resulting global economic slowdown.”

Subic’s revenue growth in the first half is boosted by a P718-million collection from leases, P685 million from port operations, P189 million from regulatory fees, and P69 million from miscellaneous sources.

Meanwhile, SBMA’s port revenue reached P645.8 million in the first semester, which was 17% higher than last year’s figures. The increase came mainly from a 14%-increase in containerized cargo, which rose from 107,740 TEUs in 2020 to 122,862 TEUs this year, even when non-containerized cargo slid by 2.5% from 3.54 million metric tons in 2020 to 3.46 million MTs this year.

Eisma also pointed out that Subic performed better in terms of import and export, with $842.29 million in imports that was 40% higher than the $601.8 million last year, and $636.8 million in export value that was 86% higher than last year.

Meanwhile, the the Subic Bay Freeport workforce kept growing despite the pandemic. From a total of 134,268 in 2019, it grew to 138,110 by the end of 2020 to 138,964 in the first half of 2021. The services sector employed a total of 101,390 workers or about 73%.

Likewise, even when the 2021 first semester committed investment total of P873.75 million was 14% lower than that of last year’s, the number of registered Subic investors continued to grow from 1,691 in 2019 to 1,706 in 2020 and to 1,744 by midyear 2021.

In terms of tourism, meanwhile, Subic posted a modest grown of 32% with 3.2 million same-day visitors in the first half of 2021; a slight increase in tourist arrivals from 149,951 in 2020 to 206,229 this year; as well as a modest growth in hotel occupancy, which increased from 20% in 2020 to 26.7% this year.

Eisma attributed the growth in key sectors to sound economic policies, best practices in anti-Covid measures, and a vision for renewed growth under the new normal. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA posts P820.8-M operating revenue in 1st quarter

Despite some unrealized revenue targets as a result of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) recorded a total of P820.84 million in operating revenues in the first quarter of 2021, or a 5.23% increase over the P780.08 million posted in the first quarter last year.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said income from the SBMA Port Authority Group amounting to P374.54 million shored up the agency’s operating revenue by P60 million, thus creating a positive balance even as four other strategic business units (SBUs) recorded decreases in revenue.

“The good news was that the SBMA Seaport managed a 25% increase in port revenue because of a 10% increase in the volume of containerized cargo,” Eisma noted.

“The pandemic might have caused losses to some of our units, but others—like our core business, which is the sea port—are coming out as winners,” she added.

Among the SBMA SBUs that recorded revenue loses is the Business and Investment Group (BIG), a report from the SBMA Financial Planning and Budget Department (FPBD) indicated. BIG’s operating revenue dropped from P373.69 million in the first quarter of 2020 (Q1 2020) to P3 P371.89 million in Q1 2021, or a decrease of P1.8 million (0.48%).

Meanwhile, the Regulatory Group also posted losses, with P22.34 million in Q1 2020 to P8.39 million in Q1 2021, or a decrease of P13.95 million (62.44%); Chairman and Administrator’s Group, from P5.57 million in Q1 2020 to P1.77 million in Q1 2021, or a decrease of P3.8 million (68.28%); and Support Services Group, from P7.63 million in Q1 2020 to P5.92 million in Q1 2021, or a decrease of P1.71 million (22.43%).

The only other group that recorded an increase in operating revenue was the Public Services Group, which posted P56.87 million in Q1 2021, or an increase of P2 million (3.64%) from P54.87 million in Q1 2020.

The SBMA FPBD also said that the agency’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), which measures profitability and earnings potential, increased by 8.41% from P36.84 million in the first quarter last year to P474.8 million this year.

Meanwhile, the agency’s operating expenses increased from P293 million in Q1 2020 to P298.35 million in Q1 2021, while operating income rose from P487.08 million in Q1 2020 to P522.49 million in Q1 2021, and bad debts expense decreased from P49.12 million in Q1 2020 to P47.69 million in the same period. 

“We have also recorded substantial income losses in the tourism, and understandably so because of so little visitor traffic since last year. But we have increases, too, in unexpected area,” Eisma revealed.

She said that collections in environmental and tourism fees dropped by 89% to just P3.06 million in the first three months this year, along with a 99% decline in tourism facilities utilities fees; 98.7% drop in tour guide fees; and 100% decline in rental of the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center, which was previously an major income earner.

However, Eisma pointed out that the agency made P241,637 in sports facilities rental at the first quarter this year, compared to zero income last year; P35,000 in location site-shoot, which represented a 116% increase over last year’s figures; and P15,000 in fishing permit collection, which was 113% higher than that last year. (MPD-SBMA)

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