Panama Canal Defies Drought: Net Income Surges to $3.45 Billion

The Panama Canal's profit increased about 9.5% in the fiscal year ended in September to $3.45 billion despite a severe drought that reduced the number of vessels that passed through the waterway, its authority said on Friday.

Adverse weather conditions that reduced water available for the canal to operate forced the authority to cut the number of ships authorized to pass per day between late 2023 and early 2024, while limiting their maximum draft allowed.

The restrictions, which caused long delays for some vessels to pass and forced others to seek alternative routes, were removed later this year.

A 5% reduction in operational costs helped the canal to ease the effect of the drought over its finances. Revenue increased by $18 million to $4.99 billion, the authority's vice president of finances, Victor Vial, told journalists, citing preliminary figures.

"Our financial strategies are complemented with environmental initiatives," said the canal's chief, Ricaurte Vazquez, in a release. "This secures our operational resilience."

The canal, which is not yet filling the 36 passage slots per day it is offering, plans to add incentivesfor some vessels to return, including bulk carriers, Vial said.

(Reuters - Reporting by Elida Moreno and Marianna Parraga; Editing by Leslie Adler and Richard Chang)