DESPITE booking tremendous growth in 2016, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is expecting to close the year on a flattish note, due to the continuing volatility of the peso and the expected drop in the operations of the mining industry in the country.
PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago said the closure of several Philippine mines and the weakening peso had caused the agency to revise its “targets and budgets from 20 percent to 3 percent”.
“We anticipate it to be nominal due to several developments, particularly in the mining industry, which has been one of our growth areas the past couple of years,” Santiago said.
Among the hard-hit areas by the issues clouting the Philippine mining industry include the ports under the Port Management Offices of Surigao, Nasipit, Palawan, Batangas, Manila and Northern Luzon.
These ports handle the bulk of the shipments from the mining firms like nickel, manganese, smelted copper and refined copper, including pumice, marble and silica sand as well as iron ore, chromium, silver and zinc.
Surigao alone broke past a half billion in annual revenues for the first time in more than three decades, anchored on the increased volume in the exportation of mineral products at private mining ports, along with longer port stays and increased vessel frequency.
“Nonetheless, the PPA will remain resilient and committed to carry out its mandate of better connectivity and service amid these developments,” Santiago said.
Meanwhile, the revised corporate operating budget (COB) of the PPA this year was reduced to P14.59 billion, which is only 2 percent higher than the 2016 COB, wherein the biggest reductions were in port dues, berthing, anchorage; arrastre/stevedoring; pilotage; wharfage for export; roll-on, roll-off (Roro) fees; as well as nontraditional income sources.
Revised operating expenses, on the other hand, ballooned to P16.22 billion this year from only P9.33 billion last year, while total capital expenditure increased to P7.42 billion this year compared to the P3.50 billion in 2016, in order to implement several port projects that include the modernization of Mindanao and Visayas ports, like Iloilo, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga; improvement of all passenger terminal buildings; repair and maintenance projects; and the implementation of 14 other capital-expenditure projects.
Total budgetary outlays for the port regulatory is now pegged at P23.64 billion compared to the total budget source of P23.87 billion.
Last year the PPA posted a P6.159- billion net profit, beating the target by 165 percent, or P3.836 billion.
The PPA was able to achieve the feat with strong figures coming from lay-up fees, Roro fees, berthing fees and remittances from Asian Terminals Inc.
Compared to the year-ago level, the 2016 figure is 8 percent better against the P5.705 billion registered in 2015. “While we expect this condition to be temporary, the Authority is bracing for a challenging 2017,” Santiago said.