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ADD
travel by sea as another domino in the item lineup to be
struck down by the continuing rise of oil prices as
Aboitiz Transport System Corp. (ATSC), the operator of
brands such as SuperFerry and 2Go, announced an increase
both in its passenger and freight rates possibly by next
month.
Enrique
Aboitiz, president and chief executive officer, told
reporters on Thursday they are discussing how to impose
the increases, which would be on top of the present oil
surcharge.
“We are
now calculating the price increase but it would be in
the vicinity of between 10 percent and 20 percent,”
Aboitiz said at the sidelines of the company’s annual
stockholders’ meeting.
He said,
however, that they are aware of the burden on travelers
of the planned fare rise in the face of the also surging
prices of rice and other commodities and the peso’s
possible continued weakening against the US dollar.
In any
case, they still are going ahead with their target
expansion that would involve spending some P840 million
for the rest of the year—P480 million for the ATSC
group, P100 million for the express and logistics group
that includes 2Go, and P260 million for wholly owned
subsidiary SuperCat.
The
company will also buy a supply chain company to boost
the company’s operations.
For the
first three months, ATSC posted a wider net loss of
P36.1 million compared with P24.1 million last year.
“Total costs and expenses of ATSC jumped 20 percent,
largely due to higher fuel and charter-related expenses.
The continued rise in fuel prices has eroded ATSC
margins, although this has been mitigated through the
growth of its value-added services.”
It said
volume from cargo delivered through road and ferry, a
significant portion of which was from its subsidiary
2Go, continue to post double-digit increases and now
accounts for 28 percent of its cargo business from just
18 percent last year.
ATSC has
been using some of its unused spaces for passengers for
cargo as fare incomes continue to tumble as a result of
stiff competition from airlines and other shipping
companies.
The
company said it had reduced its vessels’ passenger
capacity by about 44 percent through a combination of
selling some ships and converting unsued passenger space
for cargo.
The firm
reported it was able to slow down by 3 percent the
decline in passage revenues—from last year’s P637
million to P618 million this year. |
