Subic Bay Freeport—Buoyed by its core seaport operations, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) registered a total of P820.84 million in operating revenues in the first quarter, even as the agency’s other business units underperformed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the P374.54 million collected by the Port Authority Group shored up the agency’s operating revenue by P60 million. The agency’s operating revenue in the first quarter was 5.23 percent higher than last year’s figure.
“The good news was that the SBMA Seaport managed a 25-percent increase in port revenue because of a 10-percent increase in the volume of containerized cargo,” Eisma said on Monday.
“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.” A report from the SBMA Financial Planning and Budget Department (FPBD) indicated that the agency’s Business and Investment Group (BIG) was among the SBMA strategic business units (SBUs) that suffered losses in the first quarter when compared to their performance in the same period last year.
BIG’s operating revenue dropped to P371.89 million from P373.69 million, or a decrease of P1.8 million.
Other SBUs also reported a decline in operating revenue: Regulatory Group, P8.39 million from last year’s P22.34 million; Chairman and Administrator’s Group, P1.77 million from P5.57 million; and Support Services Group, P5.92 million, from P7.63 million.
The only other unit which posted an increase was the Public Services Group, which recorded P56.87 million, or an increase of P2 million (3.64 percent) from last year’s P54.87 million.
Meanwhile, Eisma said the agency’s operating expenses rose to P298.35 million, from last year’s P293 million, while operating income went up to P522.49 million, from P487.08 million. Bad debts expense fell to P47.69 million, from P49.12 million.
“We have also recorded substantial income losses in the tourism sector, and understandably so because of so little visitor traffic since last year. But we have increases, too, in unexpected areas,” Eisma said.
She said collections in environmental and tourism fees dropped by 89 percent to P3.06 million in the first three months this year, along with a 99-percent decline in tourism facilities utilities fees; 98.7-percent drop in tour-guide fees; and a 100-percent decline in rental of the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center, which was previously a major income earner.
However, Eisma said the agency made P241,637 in sports facilities rental in the first quarter, compared to zero last year; P35,000 in location-site shoot, which represented a 1160-percent increase over last year’s figure; and P15,000 in fishing permit collection, which was 113-percent higher than last year’s figure.
Image courtesy of Henry Empeño