Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Although the aviation industry was ravaged by theCOVID-19 pandemic, logistics companies at airports still maintained operations.

Noi BaiCargo Terminal Services (NCT) reported revenue in the fourth quarter of 2020 of205.6 billion VND (8.9 million USD), an increase of 11 percent over the sameperiod last year.

It announcedpost-tax profit of 52.5 billion VND, an increase of 5.6 percent. The companyattributed the profit increase to the receipt of a dividend of 7.1 billion VNDfrom the out-of-business investment.

In the wholeof 2020, the company achieved total revenue of nearly 697 billion VND, down21.6 percent compared to 2019, and post-tax profit of 206.75 billion VND, down14.6 percent, up 8 percent compared to the yearly plan. Earnings per sharereached 7,495 VND.

According toNCT, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a great impact on the aviation industryand air cargo services. The output of goods to and from Noi Bai internationalairport decreased compared to 2019.

The companyalways followed market developments and worked closely with other airlinesto maintain operational plans, especially exploiting freight flights.

Saigon CargoService Joint Stock Company (SCS) announced Q4 revenue of about 197 billion VND,a negligible decrease compared to the same period last year, after-tax profitreached 128.5 billion VND, down by nearly 5 percent.

For thewhole of 2020, SCS' revenue reached nearly 693 billion VND, down 7.4 percent,while post-tax profit touched 464 billion VND, down 7.5 percent compared to2019. SCS' gross profit margin decreased compared to the previous year butwas still at a very high level of 78 percent.

According toa report by Transport Intelligence (Ti), twice in the past decade, the airtransport market has been propelled by inventory re-stocking cycles. These wereboosted by a rapid increase in new export orders growth, which takes place at atime when the global economy and trade are rapidly developing.

However,given capacity constraints, it is unlikely that air transport will increase sostrongly next year.

After theglobal economy plunged to its lowest levels in April and May of this year, somecargo stockpiling took place, but the shipping industry witnessed the strongestincrease in volume.

Ti expectsboth sea and air freight forwarding to see a strong boost from the industrialand automotive sectors next year, as well as from the healthcare and medicinesectors.

Car saleshave fallen by 25-30 percent in the first half of 2020 but are expected torecover to around 17 percent for the full year.

With thepossibility of launching several vaccines, the volume of air freight willincrease. In September, IATA estimated delivery of a single dose to 7.8 billionpeople would fill up 8,000 B747 cargo planes. While other modalities like roadand rail could be used, sufficient air transport capacity is essential forglobal rollout, according to the Ti report.

Meanwhile,the volume of cross-border e-commerce, driven by blockade measures, hasaccelerated this year, and will set a strong growth path in the future.

Ti forecaststhat the air freight forwarding market will grow at a compound annual growthrate (GAGR) of 5.6 percent in the 2020-2024 period and the sea freightforwarding market will reach a CAGR of 5.2 percent.

The airtransport market has lower growth. Its recovery would depend on the recovery ofthe number of passengers, Ti said./.